North Korea’s longtime leader, Kim Jong Il has died after a heart attack. He was 69.

CNN reports, that Kim suffered a heart attack while riding a train on Dec. 17, during a “field guidance tour,” and couldn’t be saved despite the use of “every possible first-aid measure.”

His death was announced on Monday Dec 19 on television from the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang.

It said an autopsy was done on Dec. 18 and “fully confirmed” the diagnosis. His funeral will be held December 28 and the national mourning period extends until December 29, said the news agency.

The son of Kim Il Song, founder of the communist nation, Kim Jong Il had been in power since 1994 when his father died of a heart attack at age 82.

The White House, meanwhile, released a statement saying U.S. officials are “closely monitoring reports” of Kim’s death and are “in close touch with our allies in South Korea and Japan.”[source]