Hopes for fresh diplomacy

WORLD governments are viewing the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il with wary optimism.

It is seen as a possibly destabilising moment for the region as power passes to his son but also an opportunity for a new diplomatic start. The news jolted financial markets.

During his 17 years in power, Kim’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and his military’s repeated threats to South Korea and the US stoked fears that war might again break out or that North Korea might provide weapons of mass destruction to terrorist movements.