Death and state funeral of Kim Jong Il

Death and funeral of Kim Jong Il

Official posthumous portrait
Date	17–29 December 2011
Location	Pyongyang, North Korea
Participants	Kim Jong Un, North Korean military, government and Korean Workers’ Party elites

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The death of Kim Jong Il was reported by North Korean state television news on 19 December 2011.^[1] The presenter Ri Chun-hee announced that he had died on 17 December at 8:30 am of a massive heart attack while travelling by train to an area outside Pyongyang. Reportedly, he had received medical treatment for cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases, and during the trip, Kim was said to have had an "advanced acute myocardial infarction, complicated with a serious heart shock".^[2][3] However, it was reported in December 2012 by South Korean media that the heart attack had instead occurred in a fit of rage over construction faults in a crucial power plant project at Huichon in Chagang Province.^[4]

His son Kim Jong Un was announced as North Korea's next leader with the title of "The Great Successor (Korean: 위대한 계승자)" during the same newscast. The elder Kim's funeral was held on 28 December in Pyongyang, with a mourning period lasting until the following day.^[3]