Kim Jong Il Death Adds Nuclear Uncertainty

"Thus always to tyrants" (Sic semper tyrannis) is my general sentiment with regard to Jim Jong Il's death at age 69. He will not be missed, but his nuclear state is now in a power vacuum.  Markets in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Australia are down due to the news of this death. The fact that North Korea 24 million people have been isolated and repressed due to Kim Jong Il's leadership, adds to the uncertainty. The U.S. dollar is up, as the world's safe-haven currency.

The North Korean leader's third son Kim Jong Un, a 20 something year old, was unveiled as the successor in September 2010. Kim Jong Il inherited power, at age 33, after his father in 1994, the North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. Putting a nuclear state in the hands of a spoiled, isolated, man-child could lead to disaster, as it has in the United States since 2008.

Kim's body will be in the Kumsusan memorial palace in Pyongyang and a North Korean national mourning period has been imposed until Dec. 29. Kim's funeral will be held on Dec. 28.

The Daily Mail is reporting:

"Cause of death: Kim Jong Il ... died while aboard a train on Saturday, and was believed to have suffered some kind of heart ailment stemming from physical and mental exhaustion."