North Korean state television announced on December 19 that 69-year-old leader Kim Jong Il died of a heart attack during a train trip on December 17.
Kim Jong Il In Pictures
1
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il inspects a Korean People's Army unit in an undated image released on November 2, 2011.
2
A North Korean state TV presenter is in tears as she announces the death of the Kim Jong Il.
3
North Koreans react as they mourn Kim's death in Pyongyang on December 19.
4
Kim Jong Il (left) and his youngest son and successor, Kim Jong Un, watch a parade to mark the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party in Pyongyang in October 2010.
5
Synchronized swimmers perform to celebrate Kim Jong Il's birthday, which falls on February 16, in Pyongyang in February 2011.
6
China's President Hu Jintao (right) meets with North Korea's Kim Jong Il in Beijing in May.
7
Kim (right) poses with former U.S. President Bill Clinton, in Pyongyang to free two journalists, in August 2009.
9
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun (left) and North Korea's Kim pose after the signing of a joint declaration on peace and closer economic cooperation at the conclusion of the inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang in October 2007.
10
Kim visits the South Hamgyong Provincial Consumer Goods Exhibition in South Hamgyong Province.
11
Kim (left) welcomes then-Russian President Vladimir Putin to Pyongyang in July 2000.
13
Kim arrives in his armoured train at Khasan on the Russian-North Korean border in 2001.
14
Kim (center) attends the third session of the 12th Supreme People's Assembly in Pyongyang in June 2010.
15
A painting featuring North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung (seated) and Kim Jong Il is on display during the opening of of Democratic People's Republic of North Korea state art exhibition "Flowers of Kim Il Sung" in Vienna in May 2010.
