North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is dead after suffering a heart attack on a train journey on Saturday (December 16). State television in North Korea announced that 69-year old Kim Jong-il died on Saturday and called his youngest son, Kim Jong-un “the great successor.”

South Korea has been on high alert since the news broke and US president Barack Obama has reportedly spoken to South Korea's leader. The situation is being monitored closely out of fears of instability in the wake of the leader's death. The border area is so far reported as quiet.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com 

(photo source: Wikipedia)