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Kim Jong-il, North Korean Dictator, Dies

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  Kyodo News, via Associated Press

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  Korean Central News Agency, via /AFP — Getty Images

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  Korean Central News Agency, via Reuters

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  Korean Central News Agency, via Reuters

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  Korean Central News Agency, via Reuters

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  Korean Central News Agency, via AFP — Getty Images

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  Korean Central News Agency

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  Pool photo by David Guttenfelder

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  Korean Central News Agency, via Reuters

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  Ria Novosti/Reuters

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  Kyodo News, via Reuters

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  Lee Jin-Man/Associated Press

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  Andy Wong/Associated Press

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Kim Jong-il with his son, Kim Jong-un, in 2010.

SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader who realized his family’s dream of turning his starving country into a minor nuclear-weapons power even as the isolated nation sank further into despotism, died on Saturday of a heart attack, according to the country’s state-run media.

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Within hours of the announcement, the South Korean news agency reported that North Korea tested an unspecified number of short-range missiles on Monday morning. The national news agency, Yonhap, quoting an anonymous government source, said without elaboration that the tests were conducted before the announcement of Mr. Kim’s death. The Defense Ministry in Seoul said it could not comment on the report.
The North had kept news of the death of its leader secret for roughly two days, perhaps a sign that the leadership was struggling to position itself for what many believe could be a particularly perilous transition.