Early this morning, North Korean state television reported the death of North Korea’s longtime ruler Kim Jong Il. Kim reportedly died two days earlier, on Saturday, December 17, 2011, suffering a heart attack while riding on a train outside Pyongyang. The 69-year-old had been North Korea’s “supreme leader” since 1994, after succeeding his father, Kim Il Sung, the founder of the communist state. His nominal successor, son Kim Jong Un, remains untested and the sudden power vacuum in such an unpredictable nation has neighbors, allies, and enemies on edge.

In the first photo a young Kim Jong Il, left, takes part in a souvenir picture during his childhood with his parents, Kim Jong Suk, right, and leader Kim Il Sung. In the second photo, Kim Jong Il (left) poses for a souvenir picture with leader Kim Il Sung and his sister, Kim Kyong Hui (1963). In the final image, Kim Jong Il, right, looks toward his son Kim Jong Un, while attending a massive military parade to mark the 65th anniversary of the communist nation’s ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, North Korea on October 10, 2010. [Source]