North Korean leader Kim Jong Il dies at 69

Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s mercurial and enigmatic leader, has died at the age of 69.

Kim’s death was announced by state television from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

He is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008 but appeared relatively vigorous in photos and video from recent trips to China and Russia and in numerous trips around the country carefully documented by state media.

The leader, reputed to have had a taste for cigars, cognac and gourmet cuisine, was believed to have had diabetes and heart disease.

The news came as North Korea prepared for a hereditary succession. Kim Jong Il inherited power after his father, revered North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, died in 1994.

In September 2010, Kim Jong Il unveiled his third son, the twenty-something Kim Jong Un, as his successor, putting him in high-ranking posts.

In a “special broadcast” today, state media said Kim died of a heart ailment on a train due to a “great mental and physical strain” during a “high intensity field inspection” on Saturday.

North Korea has been grooming Kim’s third son, Kim Jong Un, to take over power from his father in the impoverished nation that celebrates the ruling family with an intense cult of personality.

South Korea put its military on “high alert” and President Lee Myung-bak convened a national security council meeting after the news of Kim’s death.

North Korea said Kim’s body will be placed in the Kumsusan memorial palace in Pyongyang and there will be a national mourning period until December 29. Kim’s funeral will be held on December 28.