Asia Pacific reacts to Kim Jong il's death
- 13 years ago
North Korean leader Kim Jong il's death sparks uncertainty across Asia Pacific.
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda set up a crisis management team after hearing the news.
Residents of Tokyo remark on Kim's controversial rule of the communist country.
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 46-YEAR-OLD IT CONSULTANT KAKETOSHI YAGISHITA
"It's always regrettable when famous people die and this signifies an end to an era."
Meanwhile, Australia's foreign minister called for calm along the oftentimes tense border separating North and South Korea.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER KEVIN RUDD SAYING:
"This is the single, largest militarily armed zone in the world. It has been thus for decades and right now we are at one of those critical junctures in post-1950 military history where we need to ensure that calm and restraint are exercised at an exceptionally difficult period of transition."
In China, officials beefed up security around the North Korean embassy in Beijing.
North Korean state television reported Kim's death on Saturday, claiming the 69-year-old "Dear Leader" had died of physical and mental strain from overwork.
His youngest son Kim Jong-un is set to take over, but analysts say his youth could hurt his legitimacy.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) DANE CHAMORRO, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL RISK ANALYSIS OF ASIA PACIFIC AT CONTROL RISKS
"He's only been in that heir's role a bit over a year or so and he needs significantly longer than that to cement his ties with the military and the Korean Worker's Party. So the real question is - are the people behind the regime going to keep him behind that role and see him as somebody that can grow into it while they pull the strings in the background, or they're going to displace him and put someone else that's very close to the Kim family in his spot."
But one thing is clear -- the country's divisive nuclear program is unlikely to change.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL ASIAN SECURITY PROGRAM AT LOWY INSTITUTE, RORY MEDCALF
"So just when we are on the cusp of a very small breakthrough in North Korea's nuclear relations with the world, with the region, this happens. And I think it will be a setback for those already precarious talks."
Kim ruled the impoverished North Korea for 17 years after his father and founder of the state died in 1994.
Jessica Gray, Reuters
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda set up a crisis management team after hearing the news.
Residents of Tokyo remark on Kim's controversial rule of the communist country.
(SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 46-YEAR-OLD IT CONSULTANT KAKETOSHI YAGISHITA
"It's always regrettable when famous people die and this signifies an end to an era."
Meanwhile, Australia's foreign minister called for calm along the oftentimes tense border separating North and South Korea.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER KEVIN RUDD SAYING:
"This is the single, largest militarily armed zone in the world. It has been thus for decades and right now we are at one of those critical junctures in post-1950 military history where we need to ensure that calm and restraint are exercised at an exceptionally difficult period of transition."
In China, officials beefed up security around the North Korean embassy in Beijing.
North Korean state television reported Kim's death on Saturday, claiming the 69-year-old "Dear Leader" had died of physical and mental strain from overwork.
His youngest son Kim Jong-un is set to take over, but analysts say his youth could hurt his legitimacy.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) DANE CHAMORRO, DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL RISK ANALYSIS OF ASIA PACIFIC AT CONTROL RISKS
"He's only been in that heir's role a bit over a year or so and he needs significantly longer than that to cement his ties with the military and the Korean Worker's Party. So the real question is - are the people behind the regime going to keep him behind that role and see him as somebody that can grow into it while they pull the strings in the background, or they're going to displace him and put someone else that's very close to the Kim family in his spot."
But one thing is clear -- the country's divisive nuclear program is unlikely to change.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL ASIAN SECURITY PROGRAM AT LOWY INSTITUTE, RORY MEDCALF
"So just when we are on the cusp of a very small breakthrough in North Korea's nuclear relations with the world, with the region, this happens. And I think it will be a setback for those already precarious talks."
Kim ruled the impoverished North Korea for 17 years after his father and founder of the state died in 1994.
Jessica Gray, Reuters