The death of Kim Jong-Il

This report on the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is rich in vocabulary we haven?t seen much before.

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Kim Jong-il, right, and his son Kim Jong-un, second left, appear at a military parade in September this year. AFP

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North Korea backs son after Kim Jong-Il's death

SEOUL: North Korea on Monday hailed Kim Jong-Il's young son as a "great successor" at the helm of the isolated country after the leader who built an atomic arsenal and presided over a devastating famine died.

On state television a tearful announcer delivered the news of Kim's demise at 69 from a heart attack, and the station aired footage of hysterical North Koreans, young and old alike, pounding the ground in displays of abject grief.

Pyongyang urged service personnel and citizens to rally behind Kim's youngest son Jong-Un, who is in his late 20s and was last year made a four-star general and given top ruling party posts despite having had no public profile.

It is the nuclear-armed pariah nation's second dynastic succession, and analysts said there would probably be little turbulence – at least for now – in the North, whose unpredictable behaviour has long destabilised the region.

"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," said the black-clad television announcer.

The official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted officials and citizens pledging their allegiance to the Swiss-educated new leader.

It described him as "a prominent thinker-theoretician and peerlessly illustrious commander", thanks to whom "the DPRK is more strikingly displaying its dignity and might as an invincible military power".

The "Dear Leader", according to KCNA, "passed away from a great mental and physical strain" at 8:30 am on Saturday (2330 GMT Friday) while travelling by train on one of his field trips.

It said Kim died of a "severe myocardial infarction along with a heart attack". He had suffered a stroke in August 2008 which triggered an acceleration in the succession plans.

Kim's funeral will be held on December 28 in Pyongyang but no foreign delegations will be invited, KCNA said. National mourning was declared until December 29.

KCNA, quoting a statement from the national funeral committee headed by Jong-Un, said Kim Jong-Il's body would lie in state in Kumsusan palace where his own father's embalmed body is on display.

Kim took over after his father and founding president Kim Il-Sung died in 1994, coming to power with a reputation as a playboy who revelled in the high life.

But in the mid- to late-1990s he presided over a famine which killed hundreds of thousands of his people. Severe food shortages continue and the UN children's fund estimates one-third of children are stunted by malnutrition.

Kim still found the resources for a nuclear weapons programme which culminated in tests in October 2006 and May 2009. The country is believed to have a plutonium stockpile big enough for six to eight weapons.

back – to support สนับสนุน
hail – to praise; to say good things about ชื่นชม  
successor – someone who has an important position after someone else ผู้สืบทอดตำแหน่ง
helm – in official control of an organisation or company มีตำแหน่งผู้ควบคุม
isolated – alone with no one to support you โดดเดี่ยว
arsenal – a collection of military weapons or equipment อาวุธจำนวนมาก คลังแสงสรรพาวุธ
preside over – to lead or be in charge of รับผิดชอบ
devastating – damaging badly or destroying ทำลายล้าง
famine – a lack of food during a long period of time in a region ความขาดแคลนอาหาร, ความอดอยาก
state – government รัฐบาล
tearful – crying, or feeling as if you want to cry ร้องไห้,น้ำตาไหล,  อยากร้องไห้
demise – death ความตาย
footage – film or video of a particular subject or event ฟิลม์หรือคลิปภาพยนตร์ หรือวิดีโอ
hysterical – in a state of extreme excitement, and crying, laughing, etc. in an uncontrolled way ซึ่งมีอาการหัวเราะหรือร้องไห้ที่ควบคุมไม่อยู่
pound – to hit something/somebody hard many times, especially in a way that makes a lot of noise  ตีกระหน่ำ
abject – complete: used for emphasizing how bad, unpleasant, or severe a situation or condition is ต่ำช้า, น่าสังเวชใจ,
grief – a strong feeling of sadness, usually because someone has died ความเศร้าโศก
urge – to advise someone very strongly about what action or attitude they should take ผลักดัน, กระตุ้น
service personnel – members of the armed forces
citizen – someone who has the right to live permanently in a particular country พลเมือง
post – position; a job in a company or organisation ตำแหน่งการงาน
public profile – being well known to the people
pariah – a person (group or country) who is not acceptable to society and is avoided by everyone คนนอกคอก, คนที่สังคมรังเกียจ
dynastic – of a family whose members rule a country or region for a long period of time ราชวงศ์
succession – the act of taking over an official position or title; the right to take over an official position or title, especially to become the king or queen of a country การสืบสันตติวงศ์, การสืบสกุล
analyst – a person whose job involves examining facts or materials in order to give an opinion on them  นักวิเคราะห์
turbulence – a state of confusion, disagreement or lack of order ความวุ่นวาย
unpredictable – changing often, in a way that is impossible to prepare for ซึ่งทำนายไม่ถูก, ซึ่งคาดไม่ได้
destabilise – to make a system, country, government, etc. become less firmly established or successful ทำให้ไม่มั่นคง (โดยเฉพาะทางการเมืองหรือเศรษฐกิจ)
the public – people in general ประชาชน, สาธารณชน, มหาชน
faithfully – in a loyal way; in a way that you can rely on ซื่อ
comrade – a friend, especially someone you have fought together with in a war or worked with เพื่อน, มิตรสนิท
clad – dressed or covered สวมใส่
quote – to repeat the words that someone else has said or written ยกคำพูดมา
pledge – to make a serious promise สัญญา
allegiance – strong loyalty to a person, group, idea or country ความจงรักภักดี
prominent – important and well known สำคัญ, มีชื่อเสียง, เด่น
theoretician – a person who develops ideas and principles about a particular subject in order to explain why things happen or exist นักทฤษฎี
peerless – better than all others of its kind  ซึ่งไร้ผู้เทียบเท่า, ดีเลิศ, เยี่ยมที่สุด
illustrious – famous, well respected and admired ซี่งมีชื่อเสียง, โด่งดัง
commander – the head of an army or army unit ผู้บังคับบัญชา
striking – very noticeable เด่นชัด
dignity – respect that other people have for you or that you have for yourself ศักดิ์ศรี
might – power อำนาจ, ความแข็งแรง, พลัง
invincible – too strong to be defeated or changed ซึ่งไม่อาจเอาชนะได้, ซึ่งไม่สามารถเปลี่ยนได้
pass away – to die จากไป (ตาย), เสียชีวิต
mental – connected with or happening in the mind; involving the process of thinking เกี่ยวกับจิตใจ
physical –connected with a person's body rather than their mind ด้านร่างกาย
strain – pressure on somebody/something because they have too much to do or manage, or something very difficult to deal with; the problems, worry or anxiety that this produces ความตึงเครียด
severe – very serious and worrying ที่รุนแรง ที่น่าเป็นห่วง
myocardial infarction – heart attack; an interruption of the blood flow to the heart causing damage or death to the muscle กล้ามเนื้อหัวใจตาย
stroke – a medical condition is which the blood flow is suddenly stopped and cannot reach the brain อาการเส้นโลหิตในสมองแตกอย่างเฉียบพลัน
trigger – to cause ก่อให้เกิด กระตุ้น
acceleration – the rate at which a vehicle increases speed ความเร่ง, อัตราการเปลี่ยนความเร็วที่เพิ่มขึ้นเรื่อยๆ ต่อ 1 หน่วยเวลา
funeral – a ceremony that takes place after someone dies งานศพ
delegation – a group of people who represent the views of an organisation, a country, etc  คณะผู้แทน, คณะบุคคลที่เป็นตัวแทนของคนกลุ่มใหญ่
mourning – the process or ceremony of expressing great sadness because someone has died ไว้อาลัย
lie in state – putting the dead body of an important person in a public place so that people can see and honour it before it is buried  นำศพมาให้ประชาชนแสดงความเสียใจและคารวะเป็นครั้งสุดท้ายก่อนทำพิธีทางศาสนา
embalmed – (of a dead body) treated with special substances to preserve it and to prevent it from decaying ดองศพ
founding – starting an organisation, company, political party, etc. ก่อตั้ง
reputation – the opinion people have about how good or bad someone or something is ชื่อเสียง
revel – to enjoy doing something very much สนุกสนาน, เพลิดเพลิน
shortage – when there is not enough of something การขาดแคลน
estimate – to say what you think an amount or value is or will be, either by using available information or by guessing คาดคะเน
stunt (growth) – to stop someone or something from growing ไม่ให้ขยายวงกว้าง  บ่อนไส้
malnutrition – physical weakness and bad health caused by having too little food, or too little of the types of food necessary for good health ภาวะขาดสารอาหาร
resources – things that you need to achieve something ทรัพยากรที่มีอยู่
culminate – to end with, after developing for some time สิ้นสุด, ถึงขั้นสุดท้าย
stockpile – a large collection of things that may be needed สิ่งที่เก็บสะสมไว้ คลังสินค้า