Death and state funeral of Kim Jong - il The death of Kim Jong - il was reported by North Korean state television news on 19 December 2011 . The presenter , Ri Chun - hee , announced that he had died on 17 December at 8 : 30 am of a massive heart attack while traveling by train to an area outside Pyongyang . Reportedly , he had received medical treatment for " cardiac and cerebrovascular diseases . " During the trip , though , he was said to have had an " advanced acute myocardial infarction , complicated with a serious heart shock . " It was reported in December 2012 , however , that he had died " in a fit of rage " over construction faults at a crucial power plant project . His son , Kim Jong - un , was announced as North Korea ' s next leader with the title of " The Great Successor " during the same newscast . Kim Jong - il ' s funeral was held on 28 December in Pyongyang , with a mourning period lasting until the following day . Announcement . North Korean State media did not report his death until 51 hours after it occurred , ostensibly due to the political jockeying and discussions that surrounded the official version of Jong - il ' s legacy , as well as agreeing upon the membership of the Funeral Committee of Kim Jong - Il . On the morning of 19 December , all work units , schools , government agencies , and military personnel were informed of a ' major announcement ' to take place at noon . At noon , Ri Chun - hee , a Korean Central Television news anchor , clad in full black traditional Korean clothing , announced the death of Kim Jong - il . Ri had previously announced the death of Kim Il - sung in 1994 . Following the official notice , a male news anchor wearing a suit and black tie proceeded to announce the entire funeral committee of Kim Jong - il in order of the rankings established by the authorities . The committee had 231 names ; Kim Jong - un was ranked first . It was reported in December 2012 , however , that he had died " in a fit of rage " over construction faults in a crucial power plant project at Huichon in Jagang Province . Speculation by South Korea . The head of South Korea ' s National Intelligence Service said surveillance footage revealed that Kim ' s personal train , on which he is said to have died , did not move over the weekend . This implied that the train was stationary when North Korean authorities claimed he had died . According to editors of " The Chosun Ilbo " newspaper , reported circumstances surrounding Kim ' s death were inconsistent with what would be generally expected during official business trips : specifically , inclement weather conditions were present , and the time of day when Kim was supposedly traveling conflicted with his usual circadian rhythm ; also , a low number of witnesses observed the events . Reactions . Korean peninsula . North Korea . Korean Central News Agency announced the news , stating on 19 December : Images showed that in the streets of Pyongyang , many people wept over Kim ' s death . People could be seen gathering to pay their respects , some kneeling , some wailing , and some beating the ground with their fists . The BBC reported that the Korean Central News Agency said people were " convulsing with pain and despair " at their loss , but would unite behind his successor , Kim Jong - un . " All party members , military men and the public should faithfully follow the leadership of comrade Kim Jong - un and protect and further strengthen the unified front of the party , military and the public " . Workplaces and local government offices have organized meetings to create a proper atmosphere of mourning . People ' s Units have emphasized the " Last Instructions of Kim Jong - il " , and groups from schools and workplaces have been visiting statues of Kim Il - Sung and other major memorials to pay their respects . South Korea . After the death was announced , the South Korean military was put on high alert . The South ' s National Security Council , worried that political jockeying in North Korea could destabilise the region , also convened for an emergency meeting . President Lee Myung - Bak canceled the rest of his Monday schedule , and in a statement declared " [ f ] or the sake of the future of the Republic of Korea , peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula is more important than anything else . It should not be threatened by what has happened . We must make thorough preparations to maintain peace and stability and continue to work closely with the international community . . . All citizens are asked to go about their lives without wavering so that peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula will not be hampered . " No government officials from Seoul paid condolences , according to the Unification Ministry . Lee Hee Ho , the 89 - year - old widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae Jung , and Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong Eun led a private group of 18 South Koreans on a two - day visit , where state media showed them being greeted by Kim Jong - un on 26 Dec . Financial markets . Asian stock markets fell soon after the announcement of Kim ' s death , echoing concerns about regional instability . At the opening of the European markets , stocks also fell , but Indonesian and United States stock markets rose after the announcement of Kim Jong - il ' s death . Funeral Committee . North Korea announced a 232 - member funeral committee headed by Kim Jong - un that planned and oversaw the elder Kim ' s funeral , which took place on 28 December . The leading members of the committee were announced in the following order : Observers believe the order of names on the list gives clues to the rankings of individuals in the regime ' s power structure with Kim Jong - un ' s position on top a further indication that he is Kim Jong - il ' s successor as supreme leader . According to Kim Keun - sik of Kyungnam University , " The list is in the order of members of the standing committee of the Politburo , then members and candidate members . It shows that the party will be stronger power than the military , " because Kim Jong - il ' s brother - in - law Jang Song - taek or O Kuk - ryol , the vice chairman of the National Defense Commission , are listed further down . " The National Funeral Committee released the following details on 19 December 2011 : Lying in state . On 20 December , Kim Jong - il ' s embalmed body lay in state in a glass coffin at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace , where his father Kim Il - sung is also interred , for an 11 - day mourning period prior to the funeral . Like his father , Kim ' s body was covered in a red flag and surrounded by blossoms of his namesake flowers , red kimjongilia . It is expected that the body will be placed next to his father ' s bier following the funeral and mourning period . As solemn music played , Kim Jong - un entered the hall to view his father ' s bier , surrounded by military honor guards . He observed a moment of solemn silence , then circled the bier , followed by other officials . On Saturday 24 December Kim Jong - un made a third visit to the palace where his father ' s body is lying in state . At this broadcast , Jang Sung - taek , whom South Korean intelligence assumed would play larger roles supporting the heir , stood with military uniform near young Kim as he paid respects to Kim Jong - il ' s body lying in state . Funeral and memorial service . The funeral itself occurred on 28 December . The 25 - mile , three - hour funeral procession was covered in snow ( which local newscasters described as " heaven ’ s tears " ) as soldiers beat their chests and called out “ father , father " . A Lincoln Continental limousine carried a giant portrait of Kim Jong - il . Kim ' s casket , draped by the Korean Workers ' Party flag , was carried on top of another Lincoln Continental hearse while Kim Jong - Un , his uncle Jang Sung - taek was immediately behind him . Army chief of the general staff Ri Yong - ho and defense minister Vice - Marshal Kim Yong - chun walked along the opposite side of the vehicle during the procession segments in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace . The procession returned to Kumsusan Palace where Kim Jong Un stood flanked by the top party and military officials who are expected to be his inner circle of advisers as rifles fired 21 times , then saluted again as goose - stepping soldiers carrying flags and rifles marched by the palace square . Reportedly , Kim Jong - il ' s body will be embalmed and put on display indefinitely in the manner of Kim Il - sung and other Communist leaders such as Lenin , Mao and Ho Chi Minh . The convoy during the funeral procession was composed of lead patrol cars , the funeral hearse and its escorts , military escorts , motorized color guards , an OB van of Korean Central Television , various cars ( including a fleet of black Mercedes ) , and trucks carrying wreaths and five military band s from the KPA . On the day of the memorial service , 29 December , North Korean president Kim Yong - nam gave an address to mourners gathered in Kim Il - sung Square . Kim Young - nam told mourners that " The great heart of comrade Kim Jong - Il has ceased to beat . . . such an unexpected and early departure from us is the biggest and the most unimaginable loss to our party and the revolution , " and that North Korea would " transform the sorrow into strength and courage 1 , 000 times greater under the leadership of comrade Kim Jong - un . " The North Korean president also affirmed Kim Jong - un ' s position as his father ' s successor saying " Respected Comrade Kim Jong - un is our party , military and country ’ s supreme leader who inherits great comrade Kim Jong - il ’ s ideology , leadership , character , virtues , grit and courage " . General Kim Jong - gak addressing the memorial service on behalf of the military , saying " Our people ' s military will serve comrade Kim Jong - un at the head of our revolutionary troops and will continue to maintain and complete the Songun accomplishments of great leader Kim Jong - il " . Songun refers to Kim Il - jong ' s policy of prioritising the " military first " in economic decisions . Kim Jong - un did not make an address but stood with his head bowed , watching from a balcony of the Grand People ' s Study House , overlooking the square . He was flanked by his aunt , Kim Kyong - hui , her husband , Jang Sung - taek , and senior party and military officials . After the speeches , and a nationwide observance of three - minute silence , a row of heavy artillery guns were fired off in a 21 - gun salute followed by a cacophony of sirens , horns and whistles sounded off simultaneously from trains and ships across the country to mark the end of the mourning period . The assembly concluded with a military band playing " The Internationale " . State television then broadcast a military choir and wind band performing " The Song of General Kim Jong Il " to formally conclude . Kim Jong - un ' s elder brothers , Kim Jong - nam and Kim Jong - chol , are not known to have been in attendance either at the lying in state or on either date , the funeral or the memorial service . The funeral showcased seven officials who are believed to be mentors or major aides to Kim Jong - un : Jang Song - taek , Mr . Kim ’ s uncle and a vice chairman of the National Defense Commission ; Kim Ki - nam , North Korea ’ s propaganda chief ; Choe Tae - bok , the party secretary in charge of external affairs ; Vice Marshal Ri Yong - ho , head of the military ’ s general staff ; Kim Yong - chun , the defense minister ; Kim Jong - gak , a four - star general whose job is to monitor the allegiance of other generals ; and U Dong - chuk , head of the North ’ s secret police and spy agency . On 1 January 2012 the Japanese daily " Yomiuri Shimbun " reported that Kim Jong - Nam secretly flew to Pyongyang from Macau on 17 December 2011 , after learning about his father ' s death that day and is presumed to have accompanied Kim Jong - Un when paying his last respects to their father . He left after a few days to return to Macau and was not in attendance at the funeral in order to avoid speculation about the succession . According to " Daily NK " , anyone who did not participate in the organized mourning sessions or did not seem genuine enough in their sorrow has been sentenced to at least six months in a labour camp . Mourners were also barred from wearing hats , gloves or scarves even though the temperature that day was — presumably so authorities could check to make sure they were displaying sufficient grief . North Korea angrily denied this accusation , blaming it on " reptile media " in the pay of the South Korean government . A photo slideshow from The Los Angeles Times does show multiple mourners with gloves and scarves . Reports of mourning . The Korean Central News Agency ( KCNA ) claimed that strange natural phenomena occurred in North Korea around the time of Kim Jong - il ' s death : In the past , the North Korean government has been known to encourage stories of miraculous deeds and supernatural events credited to Kim Il - Sung and Kim Jong - Il . KCNA also claimed that more than five million North Koreans , more than 25 % of the national population , had shown up to mourn Kim .