Kinm Jong il |
Kim Jong un |
Kim's son the third and youngest, Kim Jong Un, will likely take over the reins. A letter from the ruling Workers' Party on Monday dubbed him "the great successor."
Kim Jong il, who had been treated for "cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases for a long period," suffered a heart attack on Saturday December 17,2011 and couldn't be saved despite the use of "every possible first-aid measure," according to the agency.
See translated broadcast from state run TV in North Korea
Kim's body will be taken to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, where mourners will be received from Tuesday until December 27. A funeral ceremony is scheduled to be held in Pyongyang on December 28. Following the funeral ceremony, on December 29, memorial services will be held across the country. Guns will be fired in Pyongyang and in the capital cities of each province while North Koreans observe three minutes of silence. All trains and North Korean ships will also blow their sirens.
KCNA said all forms of entertainment will be banned during the mourning period, which will end on December 29 following the nationwide memorial. It said institutions and business will hoist flags at half-mast in honor of Kim.