Creative stone works draw huge crowds at trade fair

Posted on 2nd February 2012 in The monuments of world
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Calcutta News.Net
Thursday 2nd February, 2012 (IANS)

Rich stone varieties across India, latest techniques for chipping stones in different hues, and about 300 artisans carving stunning shapes under one roof are attracting hundreds of visitors to this biennial international trade expo being held on the city’s outskirts since Wednesday.

Among the creative works of art in stone on display are idols of Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, celluloid heroine Deepika Padukone and Karnataka’s thespian Raj Kumar.

The 20-foot monolithic black granite statue of Hindu god Anjaneya, popularly known as Hanuman, is, however, the centre of attraction and cynosure of all eyes, as it is billed to travel to the US for adorning the San Marga Iravan temple being built at Kauai’s Hindu monastery at Hawaii in Honolulu.

Organised by the All India Granites and Stone Association (AIGSA), the 10th edition of STONA 2012 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) showcases a range of colourful, eye-catching natural stones to demonstrate modern techniques in the craft of stone working.

Representatives of stone industry from Italy, China, Turkey, Egypt, Japan, Korea and several European countries are also attending the four-day conference-cum-exhibition.

On display are natural stones, machinery related to the natural stone industry, safety and environment protection methods, packaging and transportation.

The exhibition has a ‘Shilpagram’ where 110 artisans from Karnataka, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Orissa and West Bengal are displaying their skills.

‘Over the years, STONA has established itself on the international map as promoting global trade, business opportunities, innovative technologies, new manufacturing and processing facilities. It provides a platform for over 350 exhibitors from the world over, with over 10,000 visitors making a beeline to the venue,’ association president J.B. Surana told IANS.

As a treasure-trove of stone, possessing a wide spectrum of dimensional products in granite, marble, sandstone, slate and quartzite, India is one of the largest producers of the aesthetic raw material.

The industry is evolving into production and manufacturing of blocks, flooring slabs, structural slabs, ready-to-fix tiles, monuments, tomb stones, sculptures, artifacts, cobbles, cubes, curbs, pebbles and landscape garden stones.

‘Though India leads in production of natural stones with 35,342 million tonnes, accounting for 28 percent of world’s share, we are far behind in exports with only Rs.7,000-crore revenue (Rs.70-billion/$1.4 billion) as against China, which earned $3.04 billion in 2010-11,’ added Surana.

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Siting of WWI monument in dispute

Posted on 28th January 2012 in The monuments of world

CLINTON —  An American Legion committee working on erecting a World War I monument in front of Town Hall has responded to concerns raised at Wednesday’s selectmen’s meeting about its placement.

John F. Gannon, a member of the James R. Kirby American Legion Post 50, in a prepared statement yesterday said the committee got unanimous approval from the selectmen nearly a year ago, “with no strings attached.”

But at the meeting, Selectman William F. Connolly Jr. said he did not agree with the Legion’s plan to remove a large tree in front of Town Hall to make room for the granite structure.

Mr. Gannon explained that chlorophyll from the tree’s leaves would cause mold — a black film — to form on the granite. The committee would go along with trimming the tree, he said, but would prefer it be replaced with a spruce tree because they only grow to a certain height and do not damage granite.

The Legion would be willing to pay for the trimming, or a spruce, he said.

Also objecting to where the monument would be situated was Public Works Superintendent Christopher J. McGown, who said it would block the view from the downstairs public works office.

“The monument is 6 feet wide and will not be placed too close to the building, so town employees will look out and see the back of it, but their view of the sky will not be totally obstructed,” Mr. Gannon said. “This is a project that should have been done 92 years ago, but bickering and complaints back then caused it to be abandoned. We don’t want that to happen again.”

The World War I monument, which was paid for by the Legion, will have about 250 names of Clintonians who fought inscribed on it. There are monuments to veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War on the other side of Town Hall.

Mr. McGown and a few board members wondered if the monument could be erected in Central Park, across the street from Town Hall, where there are Civil War and Spanish-American War memorials, without names, and statues in each corner.

Mr. Gannon said when the old Town Hall burned down in 1907, the Civil War Memorial was moved from there to the park, and later selectmen decided there was no more room in Central Park and opted to put the World War II, Korea and Vietnam war monuments in front of Town Hall, on the other side from the proposed new spot.

Selectmen Wednesday directed board member Michael J. Dziokonski, a Vietnam War veteran and its liaison to the Legion committee, to air their concerns to the Legion.

Mr. Gannon said the Legion plans to have the new monument in place in the spring and have it dedicated a few weeks before Memorial Day, to avoid the hubbub of the holiday parade and parties.

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AP Exclusive: Top North Korean official not worried about Kim Jong Un's ability to lead

Posted on 18th January 2012 in The monuments of world

PYONGYANG, North Korea – A senior North Korean official dismissed concerns about Kim Jong Un’s readiness to lead, saying he spent years working closely with his late father and helping him make key policy decisions on economic and military affairs.

In the first interview with foreign journalists by a high-level North Korean official since Kim Jong Il’s Dec. 17 death, Politburo member and Kim family confidante Yang Hyong Sop told The Associated Press that North Koreans were in good hands with their young new leader. He emphasized an unbroken continuity from father to son that suggests a continuation of Kim Jong Il’s key policies.

“We suffered the greatest loss in the history of our nation as a result of the sudden, unexpected and tragic loss of the great leader Kim Jong Il,” he said in the interview Monday at Mansudae Assembly Hall, seat of the North Korean legislative body.

“But still, we are not worried a bit,” he added, “because we know that we are being led by comrade Kim Jong Un, who is fully prepared to carry on the heritage created by the great Gen. Kim Jong Il.”

Despite Yang’s assertion of a lengthy behind-the-scenes role for Kim Jong Un, the world was introduced to the heir only in September 2010, prior to which he had been kept out of the public eye for most of his life. Though still in his 20s, he was quickly promoted to four-star general and named a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party of Korea.

The new ruler’s youth and quick ascension to power have raised questions in foreign capitals about how ready he is to rule over this nation of 24 million with a nuclear program as well as chronic trouble feeding all its people.

Yang said he had no concerns about Kim’s ability to lead.

“The respected comrade Kim Jong Un had long assisted the great Gen. Kim Jong Il,” he told AP. “It’s not a secret that he has helped the great general in many different aspects — not only in military affairs but also the economy and other areas as well.”

Daily life in this cold, sombre capital has begun to return to normal one month after Kim’s death, reportedly from a heart attack while riding on his private train.

The white mourning bouquets and massive portraits of the departed leader have been cleared from Pyongyang’s main buildings and monuments. People are busy getting back to daily life, with children whizzing down icy slopes on wooden sleds and workers running to catch morning buses and trams as the Kim Jong Un ode “Footsteps” blares over loudspeakers.

Vast Kim Il Sung Square, where a sea of mourners converged after Kim’s death, was ghostly quiet except for a few people who scurried quickly across the frigid plaza.

In recent weeks, as North Koreans filled the capital’s streets with their emotive mourning and the government staged elaborate funeral proceedings, party and military officials moved quickly to install Kim’s son as “supreme leader” of the people, party and military.

A soft-spoken octogenarian who is vice-president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and a standing member of the powerful Political Bureau of the Communist party’s Central Committee, Yang has long-standing ties with the Kim family that stretch back to his close alliance with the nation’s founder, Kim Il Sung.

During a 2010 interview with Associated Press Television News in Pyongyang, he provided the first confirmation by a government official that Kim Jong Un would eventually become the nation’s next leader.

“He knows what the exact intention of the great Gen. Kim Jong Il was,” he said Monday.

His comments this week indicated there would be little change to major policies laid out by Kim Jong Un’s father in the three years before his death. Yang said the new leader was focused on a “knowledge-based” economy and looking at economic reforms enacted by other nations, including China.

The North has increasingly looked to China for guidance on how to revitalize its moribund economy, particularly as South Korea, Japan and other nations have frozen trade and aid to the North amid concerns about its nuclear ambitions.

Little is known about Kim Jong Un’s background and experience, though North Koreans have been told he studied at Kim Il Sung Military University and was involved in military operations such as the November 2010 artillery attack on a South Korean island that killed four South Koreans.

Earlier this month, North Korea’s state-run broadcaster aired a documentary about the new leader that began filling in some blanks from before his public debut.

The footage shows him observing the April 2009 launch of a long-range rocket and quotes him threatening to wage war against any nation attempting to intercept the rocket, which North Korea claimed was carrying a communications satellite but the United States, South Korea and Japan say was really a test of its long-range missile technology.

It was the first indication of his involvement in that controversial launch.

Yet if Kim Jong Un was playing a prominent behind-the-scenes role prior to 2010, his training period would have been much shorter than that of his Kim Jong Il, who spent 20 years working under his own father, Kim Il Sung. Even after his father’s death, Kim Jong Il observed a three-year mourning period before formally assuming leadership.

___

Follow AP’s Korea Bureau Chief Jean H. Lee at twitter.com/newsjean and Chief Asia Photographer David Guttenfelder at twitter.com/dguttenfelder.

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Kim Jong Un 'won't last long' says older brother (but he's not jealous)

Posted on 17th January 2012 in The monuments of world

  • Kim Jong Nam claims his half brother is a ‘joke to the outside world’
  • 40-something says real power will be held by military elite and top party officials
  • Kim Jong Il’s eldest son fell out of favour after being caught trying to sneak into Japan on fake passport
  • ‘Playboy’ son known for his love of casinos

By
Wil Longbottom

Last updated at 3:55 PM on 17th January 2012

Former North Korean leader’s eldest son has said the new regime will ‘not last long’ under the rule of his half brother, it has been reported.

South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper said that in an email Kim Jong Nam described the succession of power to Kim Jong Un as ‘a joke to the outside world’.

And he said his half brother would be ‘just a nominal figure’, adding: ‘The members of the power elite will be the ones in actual power.’

'A joke': Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Il's eldest son, claims his half brother will not last long in power in North Korea

‘A joke’: Kim Jong Nam, Kim Jong Il’s eldest son, claims his half brother will not last long in power in North Korea

Kim Jong Un was only announced as Kim Jong Il’s successor in September 2010 and he was thrust into leadership with the ‘great leader’ died last month.

The 27-year-old has little experience of leadership or dealing with alliance-making necessary to holding on to power in the notoriously reclusive state.

‘Without reforms, North Korea will collapse, and when such changes take place, the regime will collapse,’ the newspaper quoted Kim Jong Nam as saying.

‘The Kim Jong Un regime will not last long.’

Sibling rivalry: Kim Jong Nam is said to have fallen out of favour with his father after he was caught trying to sneak into Japan with a fake passport in 2001

Sibling rivalry: Kim Jong Nam is said to have fallen out of favour with his father after he was caught trying to sneak into Japan with a fake passport in 2001

Power struggle: New leader Kim Jong Un will be a 'peripheral' figure in North Korea, according to his half brother

Power struggle: New leader Kim Jong Un will be a ‘peripheral’ figure in North Korea, according to his half brother

North Koreans have been told their new leader studied at Kim Il Sung Military University and was involved in military operations including the November 2010 artillery attack on a South Korean island that saw four people killed.

He is seen as most like his father in manner and personality – crucial for the personality cult which is used to suppress opposition.

Kim Jong Nam, aged around 40, is known for his playboy lifestyle and love of casinos.

He is believed to have fallen out of favour with his father after he was caught trying to enter Japan on a fake passport in 2001, claiming he wanted to visit Disney’s Tokyo resort.

He told the newspaper: ‘Because I was educated in the West, I was able to enjoy freedom from early age, and I still love being free.

Dictator in training: Kim Jong Il inspects Huichon power station in May last year, along with generals and his son

Dictator in training: Kim Jong Il inspects Huichon power station in May last year, along with generals and his son

Rise to prominence: Despite being relatively unknown 15 months ago, Kim Jong Un was appointed a four-star general and an vice chairman in the North Korean communist party

Rise to prominence: Despite being relatively unknown 15 months ago, Kim Jong Un was appointed a four-star general and an vice chairman in the North Korean communist party

Cult of personality: Since he took over as leader of North Korea, the country's military has been keen to play down his lack of experience with bombastic displays like this one in Pyongyang

Cult of personality: Since he took over as leader of North Korea, the country’s military has been keen to play down his lack of experience with bombastic displays like this one in Pyongyang

AP OPENS NEW BUREAU IN NORTH KOREA – INSIDE ‘STATE-RUN’ AGENCY

The Associated Press has become the first international news organisation to establish a full-time presence in North Korea.

In a ceremony a month after the death of long-time ruler Kim Jong Il, AP president and chief executive Tom Curley inaugurated a new office inside the headquarters of the state-run Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang.

The bureau expands the agency’s presence in North Korea, following a breakthrough in 2006 when it opened a video office in the capital.

Exclusive video from AP was used by media outlets around the world following Kim Jong Il’s death.

It marks an important gesture after decades of being off-limits to international journalists.

AP, an independent 165-year-old news cooperative founded in New York, has operations in more than 100 countries and employs nearly 2,500 journalists.

Mr Curley said: ‘Beyond this door lies a path to vastly larger understanding and cultural enrichment for millions around the world.

‘Regardless of whether you were born in Pyonyang or Pennsylvania, you are aware of the bridge being created today.’

‘The reason I visit Macau so often is because it’s the most free and liberal place near China, where my family lives.’

The South Korean newspaper said a Japanese journalist, Yoji Komi, exchanged almost 100 emails with Kim Jong Nam between 2004 and December last year.

It comes as a senior North Korean party official dismissed concerns about Kim Jong Un’s readiness to lead.

Politburo member and family confidante Yang Hyong Sop said the country’s people were in good hands with their new leader.

He said: ‘We suffered the greatest loss in the history of our nation as a result of the sudden, unexpected and tragic loss of the great leader Kim Jong Il.

‘But still, we are not worried a bit,
because we know that we are being led by comrade Kim Jong Un, who is
fully prepared to carry on the heritage created by the great General Kim
Jong Il.’

White mourning
bouquets and massive portraits of the deceased leader have been cleared
from capital Pyongyang’s main buildings and monuments.

After
Kim Jong Il’s death, streets and squares in Pyongyang were filled with
hysterical people weeping and crying out in apparent anguish.

His son’s rapid ascension to power has
raised questions about how ready he is to inherit rule over the
24million population with a nuclear programme as well as chronic trouble
feeding all its people.

Mr
Yang added: ‘It’s not a secret that he has helped the great general in
many different aspects – not only in military affairs but also the
economy and other areas as well.’

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For tyrants considering embalming, some advice

Posted on 16th January 2012 in The monuments of world
NORTH Korea’s decision to embalm ”dear” departed dictator Kim Jong-il’s body and put it on permanent public display revives a practice as old as the pharaohs, which can still serve nefarious political ends.

The rich are not for embalming – they tend to live in the present, enjoying their wealth. Yet the bodies of some of the world’s most maniacal killers – usually the ones driven by demented ideologies – refuse death.

It’s largely communist leaders, whose avowed aim was the empowerment of the lowly, whose embalmed remains have been installed in grand monuments. In this, they followed the practice of some popes. Out with the opiate of religion, in with the cult of the political cadaver.

Lenin, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh and Kim Il-sung all got the formaldehyde treatment and the starving citizenry were duly herded before them in a form of compulsory worship. Affluent foreign tourists keen to see what a dead person looks like provide a revenue stream that maintains these gloomy icons.

To the embalmer, death is not a nemesis but a powerful rival for control over the body. Chemistry is the equaliser, allowing the embalmer to preserve the corpse long after death has stolen the soul.

In cultures like ancient Egypt’s, the practice was entwined with society’s religious beliefs about the afterlife. The king was mummified and equipped with provisions for what was expected to be a long journey through the netherworld. And when crusader knights were slain, their bodies were preserved for the long journey home to a good Christian burial.

During the American Civil War, thanks to the sheer volume of carnage and involvement of soldiers from far-flung states, embalming was practised for the first time on an industrial scale. Less tragically, in Australia, we put the separate science of taxidermy to work preserving our greatest racehorse, Phar Lap, who died in the 1930s but still stands proud and tall in a glass display case in a Melbourne museum.

Top-heavy dictatorial regimes are the ones most in need of the embalmer’s trade, mainly because their power is based on force and fear. The preserved cadaver symbolises an enduring political order. It stands – or more precisely, lies – as a warning to anyone who might challenge a power that defies even death.

China may no longer chant from Mao’s ”little red book” but his Communist Party still rules and the departed leader’s body is still on show. The cult of personality, essential to maintaining Mao’s power in his lifetime, has been bequeathed to his successors, who use it to legitimise the order that provides them with privileges.

Even in Moscow, where communism is dead and buried, Lenin’s corpse still lies in state, glowing under a gloomy, greenish light, reminding Russians of their country’s tumultuous history and the sacrifices and suffering their forebears endured.

However, for many, the embalming of the worst demagogues keeps the pain alive and represents an insult to their many victims. In 1961, Stalin’s corpse was quietly removed from the Red Square mausoleum, where he lay alongside Lenin, and was interred near the Kremlin’s wall.

Right-wing dictators are rarely embalmed and displayed, former Philippines president Ferdinand Marcos being a rare exception. But had the Third Reich survived, the right’s greatest monster, Hitler, probably would have been embalmed upon his death for the same reasons that motivated the communists.

Today, fortunately, absolute despotism is rarer and has a relatively short shelf life. As democracy replaces tyranny, so embalming has entered the services of the common citizenry. These days, it’s more about presentation than preservation. The vogue for open-casket funerals requires a final, formaldehyde makeover. In death, as in life, we want to look our best and nobody wants foul odours marring a beautiful funeral, as they did when the botched embalming of Pope Pius XII caused the Swiss Guards stationed around the body to faint.

Hopefully, future generations will regard the display of dead politicians as a quaint reminder of how unevolved human beings can be. Either that or they’ll analyse the preserved remains to isolate and eliminate the gene that produces political psychopaths.

Christopher Kremmer is the author of five books and a former Herald foreign correspondent. See christopherkremmer.com.

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30 countries that face most or least VISA restrictions

Posted on 23rd December 2011 in The monuments of world

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Planning to travel abroad on business or pleasure purpose? Well, the bad news is that you would most probably need to go through all the visa hassles.

While Indians need visa to enter almost all countries, there are some nations whose citizens can travel to almost anywhere without any restriction.

Let us have a look at 30 countries, including India, and see how many countries their citizens can visit without a visa, according to Henley and Partners’ Henley Visa Restrictions Index – Global Ranking 2011.

Note: The score means the number of countries citizens of that country can travel to without a visa.

India

Rank: 78

Score: 53

India has formal diplomatic relations with most nations, as the world’s second most populous country and the world’s most-populous democracy and recently as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.

Click NEXT to see restrictions on Pakistanis…


Image: Qutub Minar in New Delhi.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Pakistan

Rank: 99

Score: 31

Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India in the east; Afghanistan and Iran in the west; and China in the far northeast.

In the north, Tajikistan lies adjacent to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. In addition, Oman is also located in maritime vicinity and shares a marine border with Pakistan.

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Image: A man walks on a road after heavy rain and a hailstorm hit Islamabad.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Denmark

Rank: 1

Score: 173

Denmark, with a mixed market economy and a large welfare state, ranks as having the world’s highest level of income equality.

It has frequently ranked as the happiest and least corrupt country in the world.

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Image: Boats are seen anchored at the 17th century Nyhavn district, home to many shops and restaurants in Copenhagen.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Sweden

Rank: 1

Score: 173

In 2010, the World Economic Forum ranked Sweden as the second most competitive country in the world, after Switzerland.

Sweden has been a member of the European Union since 1 January 1995 and is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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Image: Lightning strikes the Turning Torso building in Malmo.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Finland

Rank: 1

Score: 173

It is the eighth-largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union.

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Image: A child slides on snow in front of the Santa Claus’ Office in Santa Claus’ Village on the Arctic Circle near Rovaniemi, northern Finland.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Germany

Rank: 2

Score: 172

With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state and the largest economy in the European Union. It is one of the major political powers of the European continent and a technological leader in many fields.

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Image: A Christmas market in front of the Charlottenburg castle in Berlin.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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The United Kingdom

Rank: 3

Score: 171

The United Kingdom is a developed country and has the world’s sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and seventh-largest economy by purchasing power parity.

It was the world’s first industrialised country and the world’s foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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Image: Tower Bridge in London.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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The Netherlands

Rank: 3

Score: 171

In May 2011, the Netherlands was ranked as the “happiest” country according to results published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

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Image: Dutch woman Tirza Mol rows her gondola, the Netherlands’ only one, through the canals of central Amsterdam.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Luxembourg

Rank: 3

Score: 171

Luxembourg is a member of the European Union, NATO, OECD, the United Nations, and Benelux, reflecting the political consensus in favour of economic, political, and military integration.

The city of Luxembourg, the largest and capital city, is the seat of several institutions and agencies of the EU.

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Image: View of the city of Luxembourg.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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France

Rank: 3

Score: 171

France is a founding member of the United Nations, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and a member of the Francophonie, the G8, G20, Nato, OECD, WTO and the Latin Union.

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Image: A general view shows the Champs Elysees Avenue and the Arc de Triomphe monument in Paris.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Belgium

Rank: 3

Score: 171

Historically, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were known as the Low Countries, which used to cover a somewhat larger area than the current Benelux group of states.

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Image: A dog stands on Brussels’ Grand Place.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Italy

Rank: 3

Score: 171

Italy plays a prominent role in European and global military, cultural and diplomatic affairs. The country’s European political, social and economic influence make it a major regional power.

The country has a high public education level and is a highly globalised nation.

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Image: People walk past Duomo Cathedral after a snowfall in Milan.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Spain

Rank: 4

Score: 170

It is a developed country with the twelfth largest economy in the world by nominal GDP, and high living standards, including the tenth-highest quality of life index rating in the world.

It is a member of the United Nations, European Union, Nato, OECD, and WTO.

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Image: Motorcyclists ride down the central avenue in Madrid.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Japan

Rank: 4

Score: 170

A major economic power, Japan has the world’s third-largest economy by nominal GDP and third-largest economy by purchasing power parity.

It is also the world’s fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer.

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Image: The world’s steepest roller coaster ‘Takabisha’ with a free falling angle of 121 degrees is seen at Fuji-Q Highland amusement park in Fujiyoshida, west of Tokyo.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Norway

Rank: 4

Score: 170

Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, fresh water, and hydropower.

On a per-capita basis, it is the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas outside the Middle East, and the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the country’s gross domestic product.

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Image: Grand Hotel in Oslo.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Portugal

Rank: 4

Score: 170

Portugal is a developed country with an advanced and high-income economy, with a very high Human Development Index.

It has the world’s 19th-highest quality-of-life, one of the top health care systems, and it’s also one of the world’s most globalised and peaceful nations.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: Passengers wait for their trains at Lisbon’s subway station. All subway stations in Lisbon have been decorated and designed by painters, sculptors, architects and designers from all over the world.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Ireland

Rank: 5

Score: 169

In 2005 the Republic of Ireland was ranked the best place to live in the world according to a “quality of life” assessment by The Economist magazine.

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Image: A woman walks past graffiti on the side of a building in Dublin.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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The United States

Rank: 5

Score: 169

The country accounts for 41 per cent of global military spending, and is a leading economic, political, and cultural force in the world.

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Image: Morning commuters make their way through the Times Square in New York City.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Austria

Rank: 6

Score: 168

Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $48,350 (2011 estimate).

The country has developed a high standard of living and in 2011 was ranked 19th in the world for its Human Development Index.

Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, and is a founder of the OECD.

Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the European currency, the Euro, in 1999.

Click NEXT to read more…


Image: A boat decorated with a traditional carnival figure is seen during a parade in the village of Grundlsee.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Switzerland

Rank: 7

Score: 167

In nominal terms, Switzerland is one of the richest countries in the world by per capita gross domestic product, with a nominal per capita GDP of $75,835.

In 2010, Switzerland had the highest wealth per adult of any country in the world (with $372,692 for each person).

Switzerland also has one of the world’s largest account balances as a percentage of GDP.

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Image: A man surfs during sunny summer weather on a wave along the Reuss river in the town of Bremgarten.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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New Zealand

Rank: 8

Score: 166

New Zealand is a member of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, Commonwealth of Nations, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum and the United Nations.

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Image: Skyjumper Brad Smith performs a skyjump atop the Sky Tower in Auckland.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Australia

Rank: 8

Score: 166

Australia is the world’s thirteenth-largest economy and has the world’s sixth-highest per capita income. Australia’s military expenditure is the world’s twelfth largest.

With the second-highest human development index globally, Australia ranks highly in many international comparisons of national performance.

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Image: An outdoor shopping mall in Melbourne.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Greece

Rank: 8

Score: 166

A developed country with an advanced, high-income economy and very high standards of living, Greece has been a member of what is now the European Union since 1981 and the eurozone since 2001, NATO since 1952, and the European Space Agency since 2005.

It is also a founding member of the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.

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Image: A man photographs cars on display at the Hellenic Motor museum in Athens.
Photographs: Reuters

Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Canada

Rank: 9

Score: 164

One of the world’s most highly-developed countries, Canada has a diversified economy that is reliant upon its abundant natural resources and upon trade – particularly with the United States, with which Canada has had a long and complex relationship.

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Image: People play a game of pickup soccer in downtown Toronto.
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Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Iceland

Rank: 9

Score: 164

Iceland has a free market economy with relatively low taxes compared to other OECD countries, while maintaining a Nordic welfare system providing universal health care and tertiary education for its citizens.

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Image: People look at a geyser in Geysir.
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Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Singapore

Rank: 9

Score: 164

Singapore is a world leader in several areas: It is the world’s fourth-leading financial centre, the world’s second-biggest casino gambling market, and the world’s third-largest oil refining centre.

The port of Singapore is one of the five busiest ports in the world, most notable for being the busiest transshipment port in the world.

The country is home to more US dollar millionaire households per capita than any other country.

The World Bank notes Singapore as the easiest place in the world to do business.

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Image: An aerial view of Marina Bay and Singapore’s central business district.
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Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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South Korea

Rank: 10

Score: 163

It is Asia’s fourth-largest economy and the world’s 15th (nominal) or 12th (purchasing power parity) largest economy.

The economy is export-driven, with production focusing on electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics.

South Korea is a member of the United Nations, WTO, OECD and G-20 major economies. It is also a founding member of APEC and the East Asia Summit.

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Image: A woman reads a book beside a bronze statue in front of Sejong Centre for the Performing Arts in central Seoul.
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Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Malta

Rank: 11

Score: 160

Malta is internationally renowned as a tourist resort, with numerous recreational areas and historical monuments, including nine Unesco World Heritage Sites, most prominently the Megalithic Temples which are some of the oldest free-standing structures in the world.

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Image: A man performs a jump while windsurfing off Bahar ic-Caghaq.
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Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Malaysia

Rank: 12

Score: 158

Malaysia is a relatively open state-oriented and newly industrialised market economy. The state plays a significant but declining role in guiding economic activity through macroeconomic plans.

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Image: KLCC Park in central Kuala Lumpur.
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Last updated on: December 23, 2011 11:02 IST

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Liechtenstein

Rank: 12

Score: 158

Liechtenstein is the smallest yet the richest (by measure of GDP per capita) German-speaking country in the world and the only country to lie entirely within the Alps.

It is known as a principality as it is a constitutional monarchy headed by a prince.


Image: Vaduz Castle in Liechtenstein’s capital Vaduz.
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Kim Jong Un to rule North Korea with help of his uncle in plan agreed by the military

Posted on 21st December 2011 in The monuments of world

  • First time since end of WW2 a sole dictator will not be in charge
  • Backing of military calms fears of coup
  • Smooth transition will mean ‘little change’ for impoverished citizens
  • South Korean activists send propaganda balloons over border

By
Lee Moran

Last updated at 3:49 PM on 21st December 2011

North Korea’s new young leader Kim Jong Un will rule the country alongside his uncle and the military, sources revealed today.

Jang Song Thaek will work alongside his inexperienced and untested 28-year-old nephew – the first time since the end of World War Two a collective rather than a dictator from the family dynasty will be in charge.

The army’s backing of Kim Jong Il’s third son, his proclaimed successor, has also calmed fears there could be a military coup.

And it has prompted speculation there
will now be a smooth transition of power – meaning little change for the
millions of impoverished and poverty-stricken citizens.

New leaders: Jang Song Thaek (left) will rule with his nephew Kim Jong Un (right) with help from the military

Collective: North Korean military, who will run the country alongside Kim Jong Il's brother and son, cry as they visit the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay their respects to their leader

Collective: North Korean military, who will run the country alongside Kim Jong Il’s brother and son, cry as they visit the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay their respects to their leader

A source also revealed that the test-firing of a North Korean missile on Monday, following the announcement of Kim Jong Il’s death on Saturday, was a warning shot against the U.S.

The source said: ‘With the missile test, North Korea wanted to deliver the message that they have the ability to protect themselves.

‘But North Korea is unlikely to conduct a nuclear test in the near future unless provoked by the United States and South Korea.’

Jang Song Thaek’s appointment was widely
expected after his addition to the National Defence Commission, the
supreme leadership council led by his brother Kim Jong Il as head of the
military state, in 2009.

Lying in state: The body of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is on display at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang

Lying in state: The body of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is on display at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang

Family affair: Kim Jong Il is pictured on the escalator of a Pyongyang supermarket, with his sister Kim Kyong Hui, his son Kim Jong Un, and his sister's husband Jang Song Thaek behind him

Family affair: Kim Jong Il is pictured on the escalator of a Pyongyang supermarket, with his sister Kim Kyong Hui, his son Kim Jong Un, and his sister’s husband Jang Song Thaek behind him

Procession: People bring floral arrangements to the bier of leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongang following his death

Procession: People bring floral arrangements to the bier of leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongang following his death

‘NORTH KOREANS ARE LIVING OFF GRASS AND ONE POTATO PER DAY

UN food experts urged immediate food aid for the isolated nation just months before Kim Jong Il’s (pictured) death.

Three groups described the urgent need for food, reporting ‘acute malnutrition’ among North Korean children, ‘widespread consumption of grass’ and elderly people on a ‘knife edge’.

There was ‘substantial evidence’ of a growing food crisis for millions who live in the countryside – beyond the relative comfort of Pyongyang.

‘What we saw was extensive chronic malnutrition and cases of acute malnutrition, which is where the person is basically dying,’ said David Austin, director of North Korea’s Mercy Corps.

He added: ‘More than 50 per cent of people who are reliant on (state-provided grain) were out seeking out alternative food – things like bark, wild grass, and leaves – and mixing it in with food. We found there was no protein or fat in people’s diets.’

And when he returned in September, government grain rations had been cut by more than half to about 150 grams per day – the equivalent of one potato.

Alongside Kim Jong Il’s younger sister Kim Kyong Hui, he is expected to guide the ‘young general’ during his formative days in power.

As part of the consolidation of power, security was stepped up in cities and troops put on high alert as South Korean activists launched giant balloons containing tens of thousands of propaganda leaflets across the border.

Some showed graphic pictures of former Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi’s battered corpse and described his gruesome death.

They oppose a hereditary transfer of power in North Korea – where Kim Jong Il ruled for 17 years after inheriting power from his father, national founder and eternal North Korean President Kim Il Sung, who died in 1994.

And in another sign of border tension, Chinese boatmen along a river separating North Korea and China said North Korean police ordered them to stop giving rides to tourists, saying they will fire on the boats if they see anyone with cameras.

Meanwhile, the young Kim yesterday led a procession of senior officials in a viewing of Kim Jong Il’s body, which is being displayed in a glass coffin near that of Kim Il Sung.

Publicly presiding over the funeral proceedings was an important milestone for his successor, strengthening his image as the country’s political face at home and abroad.

State media showed video of Kim Jong Un receiving mourners, including foreign envoys, as he stood near his father’s body with an honour guard.

He was sombre during the greetings, although footage at one point showed him teary-eyed.  A report in the North’s official Korean Central News Agency did not specify which foreign countries the envoys represented.

According to official media, more than five million North Koreans have gathered at monuments and memorials in the capital since the death of Kim Jong Il.

Protest: South Korean activists have been sending propaganda balloons over the border

Protest: South Korean activists have been sending propaganda balloons over the border

Up and away: Some of the balloons showed graphic pictures of former Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi’s battered corpse and described his gruesome death

Hundreds of thousands visited monuments around the city within hours of the official announcement that Kim had died.

The North has declared an 11 day period of mourning that will culminate in his state funeral and a national memorial service on December 28 to 29.

Half-way across the world, flags flew at half-staff yesterday in Cuba as the country began three days of official mourning in a show of solidarity with its fellow communist state.         

The Council of State decreed the mourning period without comment and said flags would be lowered at all government buildings and military installations.         

High alert: South Korean army soldiers pictured patrolling along the barbed-wire fence in the demilitarized zone between South and North Korea in Yeoncheon

High alert: South Korean army soldiers pictured patrolling along the barbed-wire fence in the demilitarized zone between the South and North

Bleak: Armed North Korean soldiers collect twigs on the banks of Yalu River (left) near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong, while others talk amongst themselves (right)

A book of condolences was opened at the North Korean embassy in Havana, with a big photo of the dead leader and flowers in the entrance.               

Cuba and North Korea are two of the world’s last communist nations and have maintained good relations since establishing diplomatic ties in 1960, the year after Fidel Castro took power in a 1959 revolution on the Caribbean island.          

They were both on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism until North Korea was removed in 2008.

Cuba is facing its own succession issues as it approaches a generational leadership change without much new blood waiting in the wings.     

Half mast: A Cuban flag was flying low at a government building in Havana in solidarity to Kim Jong Il

Half mast: A Cuban flag was flying low at a government building in Havana in solidarity to Kim Jong Il

Tribute: A group of women march towards the North Korean Embassy to mourn the death of Kim Jong Il in Beijing, China, where the flag is being held at half mast

Cuba was ruled for 49 years by Fidel Castro, 85, who was succeeded by brother and then first vice president Raul Castro in 2008.     

Under the constitution, if Raul Castro were to leave office tomorrow, 81-year-old Jose Ramon Machado Ventura, current first vice president of the ruling Council of State, would succeed him until 2013, although he could be replaced sooner.  

Government opponents said they feared Cuban leaders could circumvent the constitution and follow North Korea’s lead by quickly replacing Machado Ventura with a Castro family member.      

But other Cubans discounted the possibility that the government would put another Castro in power, saying the Cuban system would not permit it.       

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North Korea boosts internal security, has troops on alert, South Korean intelligence suggests

Posted on 21st December 2011 in The monuments of world

PYONGYANG, North Korea – North Korea has tightened internal security and put troops on alert since the announcement of leader Kim Jong Il’s death as it moves to consolidate power behind his young son and heir, South Korean intelligence indicated Wednesday.

Concerns over what will happen next in the unpredictable communist enclave — which has a 1.2-million troop military, advanced ballistic missiles and a nuclear weapons development program — have sharply raised tensions around northeast Asia.

Kim Jong Il ruled the country for 17 years after inheriting power from his father, national founder and North Korean hero Kim Il Sung. His chosen heir — Kim Jong Un — only entered the public view last year and remains a mystery to most of the world.

But South Korean parliament member Kwon Young-se said Seoul’s National Intelligence Service believes the North is now concentrating on consolidating Kim Jong Un’s power and that the country has placed its troops on alert since Kim Jong Il’s death.

North Korea on Monday announced Kim, 69, died of a massive heart attack.

Kwon said the NIS has told the parliamentary intelligence committee, which he chairs, that senior military officials have pledged allegiance to Kim Jong Un, but police security has been tightened in major cities across the country. Officials in Seoul say they have not seen any unusual military troop movements.

Initial indications coming out of North Korea suggest the transition to Kim Jong Un was moving forward.

The young Kim, who is still in his twenties, led a procession of senior officials Tuesday in a viewing of Kim Jong Il’s body, which is being displayed in a glass coffin near that of Kim Il Sung.

Publicly presiding over the funeral proceedings was an important milestone for Kim’s son, strengthening his image as the country’s political face at home and abroad.

State media said Kim Jong Un also received mourners, including foreign envoys, in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace as he stood with a “guard of honour by the sides of the bier together with members of the National funeral Committee.”

The report in KCNA did not specify which foreign countries the envoys represented.

According to official media, more than five million North Koreans have gathered at monuments and memorials in the capital since the death of Kim Jong Il. Hundreds of thousands visited monuments around the city within hours of the official announcement that Kim had died over the weekend.

The North has declared an 11-day period of mourning that will culminate in his state funeral and processions through the capital on Dec. 28-29.

In a dreamlike scene captured by Associated Press Television News, Kim’s coffin appeared to float on a raft of “kimjongilia” — the flowers named after him — with his head and shoulders bathed in a spotlight as solemn music played. Various medals and honours were displayed at his feet.

The bier was located in a hall of the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, a mausoleum where the embalmed body of Kim Jong Il’s father and North Korean founder Kim Il Sung has been on view in a glass sarcophagus since his death in 1994. Kim Jong Un wore a black Mao-style suit, his hair cropped closely on the sides but longer on top, as he walked with much older officials in suits and military uniforms.

In a move likely to anger the North, South Korean activists and defectors launched giant balloons containing tens of thousands of propaganda leaflets across the border on Wednesday. North Korea has previously warned it would fire at South Korea in response to such actions.

There were no reports of retaliation.

South Korea has put its military on alert and Japan has ordered extra vigilance from its coast guard. President Barack Obama has been in close contact with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, and has reassured them that Washington will stand by its allies.

China, meanwhile, appears ready to deal with Kim Jong Un.

President Hu Jintao offered his condolences at North Korea’s embassy in Beijing on Tuesday as the government hinted at an early invitation for a visit by Kim Jong Un.

China’s response to Kim Jong Il’s death highlights the government’s growing emphasis on North Korean ties despite its annoyance at the North’s refusal to reform its listless economy and its recurring provocative acts against South Korea that raise tensions in the region.

But how much clout Beijing carries isn’t clear.

“China’s influence on North Korea is often overstated,” said David Reeths, a senior adviser with IHS Jane’s Consulting. “While it’s true that China is their most important ally and patron, North Korea remains fiercely independent and harbours tremendous suspicion about China’s ultimate aims. … China’s ability to react decisively and coherently to fast moving events may also be hampered by their own ongoing generational change in leadership.”

Whether the younger Kim would depart from his father’s political approach also remains a mystery.

Unlike Kim Jong Il, who had 20 years of political grooming under his charismatic father, Kim Jong Un only emerged publicly as Kim’s heir about a year ago. Very little is known about him — even his age isn’t certain, although he is believed to be 27.

South Korean’s Unification Ministry spokesman Choi Bo-seon said it is Seoul’s understanding that Pyongyang is trying to raise the image of Kim Jong Un as next leader through developing a personality cult and that the North is seeking to unite the country by repeatedly touting Kim Jong Il’s feats and showing dramatic scenes of mourning and grief.

The U.S. State Department said late Tuesday that further discussions were needed to assess food needs and on monitoring aid, which would be possible only after the 11-day official mourning period for Kim ends.

“We’re going to have to keep talking about this, and given the mourning period, frankly, we don’t think we’ll be able to have much more clarity and resolve these issues before the New Year,” spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news conference.

___

Reported from Pyongyang by Associated Press Television News senior video journalist Rafael Wober. Associated Press writers Foster Klug, Hyung-jin Kim, Sam Kim and Eric Talmadge in Seoul, as well as Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee, contributed to this story.

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Seoul: NKorea raises security, has troops on alert

Posted on 21st December 2011 in The monuments of world

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — North Korea has tightened internal security and put troops on alert since the announcement of leader Kim Jong Il‘s death in moves to consolidate power behind his young son and heir, South Korean intelligence indicated Wednesday.

Concerns over what will happen next in the unpredictable communist enclave — which has a 1.2-million troop military, advanced ballistic missiles and a nuclear weapons development program — have sharply raised tensions around northeast Asia.

Kim Jong Il ruled the country for 17 years after inheriting power from his father, national founder and North Korean hero Kim Il Sung. His chosen heir — Kim Jong Un — only entered the public view last year and remains a mystery to most of the world.

But South Korean parliament member Kwon Young-se said Seoul’s National Intelligence Service believes the North is now concentrating on consolidating Kim Jong Un’s power and that the country has placed its troops on alert since Kim Jong Il’s death.

North Korea on Monday announced Kim, 69, died of a massive heart attack.

Kwon said the NIS has told the parliamentary intelligence committee, of which he is a member, that senior military officials have pledged allegiance to Kim Jong Un, but police security has been tightened in major cities across the country.

Initial indications coming out of North Korea suggest the transition to Kim Jong Un was moving forward.

The young Kim, who is still in his twenties, led a procession of senior officials Tuesday in a viewing of Kim Jong Il’s body, which is being displayed in a glass coffin near that of Kim Il Sung.

Publicly presiding over the funeral proceedings was an important milestone for Kim’s son, strengthening his image as the country’s political face at home and abroad.

State media said Kim Jong Un also received mourners, including foreign envoys, in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace as he stood with a “guard of honor by the sides of the bier together with members of the National funeral Committee.”

The report in KCNA did not specify which foreign countries the envoys represented.

According to official media, more than five million North Koreans have gathered at monuments and memorials in the capital since the death of Kim Jong Il. Hundreds of thousands visited monuments around the city within hours of the official announcement that Kim had died over the weekend.

The North has declared an 11-day period of mourning that will culminate in his state funeral and processions through the capital on Dec. 28-29.

In a dreamlike scene captured by Associated Press Television News, Kim’s coffin appeared to float on a raft of “kimjongilia” — the flowers named after him — with his head and shoulders bathed in a spotlight as solemn music played. Various medals and honors were displayed at his feet.

The bier was located in a hall of the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, a mausoleum where the embalmed body of Kim Jong Il’s father and North Korean founder Kim Il Sung has been on view in a glass sarcophagus since his death in 1994. Kim Jong Un wore a black Mao-style suit, his hair cropped closely on the sides but longer on top, as he walked with much older officials in suits and military uniforms.

South Korea has put its military on alert and Japan has ordered extra vigilance from its Coast Guard. US President Barack Obama has been in close contact with his South Korean and Japanese counterparts, and has reassured them that Washington will stand by its allies.

China, meanwhile, appears ready to deal with Kim Jong Un.

President Hu Jintao offered his condolences at North Korea’s embassy in Beijing on Tuesday as the government hinted at an early invitation for a visit by Kim Jong Un.

China’s response to Kim Jong Il’s death highlights the government’s growing emphasis on North Korean ties despite its annoyance at the North’s refusal to reform its listless economy and its recurring provocative acts against South Korea that raise tensions in the region.

But how much clout Beijing carries isn’t clear.

“China’s influence on North Korea is often overstated,” said David Reeths, a senior adviser with IHS Jane’s Consulting. “While it’s true that China is their most important ally and patron, North Korea remains fiercely independent and harbors tremendous suspicion about China’s ultimate aims. … China’s ability to react decisively and coherently to fast moving events may also be hampered by their own ongoing generational change in leadership.”

Whether the younger Kim would depart from his father’s political approach also remains a mystery.

Unlike Kim Jong Il, who had 20 years of political grooming under his charismatic father, Kim Jong Un only emerged publicly as Kim’s heir about a year ago. Very little is known about him — even his age isn’t certain, although he is believed to be 27.

South Korean’s Unification Ministry spokesman Choi Bo-seon said it is Seoul’s understanding that Pyongyang is trying to raise the image of Kim Jong Un as next leader through developing a personality cult and that the North is seeking to unite the country by repeatedly touting Kim Jong Il’s feats and showing dramatic scenes of mourning and grief.

The U.S. State Department said late Tuesday that further discussions were needed to assess food needs and on monitoring aid, which would be possible only after the 11-day official mourning period for Kim ends.

“We’re going to have to keep talking about this, and given the mourning period, frankly, we don’t think we’ll be able to have much more clarity and resolve these issues before the New Year,” spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told a news conference.

___

Reported from Pyongyang by Associated Press Television News senior video journalist Rafael Wober. Associated Press writers Foster Klug, Hyung-jin Kim, Sam Kim and Eric Talmadge in Seoul, as well as Korea bureau chief Jean H. Lee, contributed to this story.

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Kim Jong Il’s Death ‘Won’t Hurt’ Russia Ties

Posted on 20th December 2011 in The monuments of world

By Alexander Bratersky

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: December 21, 2011 (Issue # 1688)



DMITRY ASTAKHOV / AP / RIA NOVOSTI

Late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il (l) with President Dmitry Medvedev during a summit in Siberia in August this year.

MOSCOW — The sudden death of maverick North Korean strongman Kim Jong Il cast a cloud over the future of the world’s last Stalinist state, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that it should not affect relations between the two countries.

Analysts agreed that Russia is likely to remain an important trading partner of North Korea, but only if the country is not plunged into chaos by feuding clans — which, they said, is a more likely consequence of Kim’s death than a gradual democratization of the closed country.

As hundreds wailed in the streets of Pyongyang in a show of mourning for the “dear leader,” Asian markets reeled and South Korea readied its army, fearing provocations from the tentative successor, Kim’s youngest son, Kim Jong Un.

Kim Jong Il died in his armored train Saturday, the country’s official news agency KCNA reported Monday. He was 69.

The cause of death was the “great mental and physical strain” that he had endured on the job, said a North Korean television anchor, who burst into tears as she wrapped up her remarks.

No details were provided, but some news reports said he had suffered a heart attack. His father and predecessor, Kim Il Sung, died after a sudden heart attack at age 82. News media have reported about Kim Jong Il’s health problems since 2008, when he suffered a cardiac arrest. His penchant for cigars and fine cognac has done little to help his condition, the news reports said.

Kim will be succeeded by his third son, Kim Jong Un, believed to be in his late 20s. KCNA referred to him as “the great leader” for the first time in a Monday report, Itar-Tass said.

Photographs from North Korea showed crowds of people weeping in public over Kim’s death, many of them kneeling before monuments of the leader.

President Dmitry Medvedev has offered his condolences, but neither he nor Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have been invited to the funeral on Dec. 28, which will be a strictly domestic affair with no foreign dignitaries attending.

Kim is expected to be buried in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang, where the embalmed body of his father is on display and maintained by the same Russian experts who maintain the body of Vladimir Lenin in the Red Square mausoleum in Moscow. It is unclear whether Kim’s body might be put on display as well.

“We hope that this loss of the Korean people will not affect the development of our friendly relationship,” Lavrov said, RIA-Novosti reported.

Ties between Moscow and Kim’s regime run deep. Kim was, in fact, born on Russian soil in 1941, while his father was fighting in the Soviet army against Japanese forces in World War II. A Soviet birth certificate identified him as Yury Irsenovich Kim born in a village near Khabarovsk.

Russia is one of the few countries that Kim has visited, last touring it in his armored train — his only mode of foreign transportation — in August. He and Medvedev discussed economic ties at a meeting near Lake Baikal.

Bilateral trade has plummeted since Soviet times and now stands at about $100 million a year, making Russia the third-biggest trade partner for North Korea after China and South Korea.

Russia has been trying to step up its involvement in politics on the divided Korean Peninsula through economic means, proposing, among others, to create a trans-Korean gas pipeline and restore a railroad link between the two Koreas.

The pipeline deal remains under negotiation, but Russian Railways in October commenced work on the 10,000-kilometer rail line, which starts in the North Korean port of Rajin.

Hundreds of North Korean workers are also employed in the timber industry in Russia’s Far East. Some of them have seized their chance to flee their home country, voicing plans to never return to North Korea.

The Russian government has criticized the Kim dynasty, which has “preserved Stalinism in its worst forms,” since the 1960s, but that has not prevented Moscow and Pyongyang from collaborating, said Yevgeny Kim, a senior researcher at the Institute of the Far East with the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“We will be ready to work with any regime,” Kim said by telephone from Moscow.

Kim, who has visited North Korea several times, said the country, despite its near-isolation from the outside world, is undergoing slow change, allowing limited Internet access at universities and some forms of private entrepreneurship.

A South Korean businessman working in Moscow said he hoped Kim Jong Il’s death would bring about change. “We want to see who will hold the real power in the country,” said the businessman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the issue.

Many analysts said they also wondered who would really hold power and voiced doubts that it would be Kim Jong Un, given his lack of charisma and government experience. Kim Jong Il began grooming him for succession around 2009, after losing faith in his two other sons. But Kim Il Sung spent more than a decade preparing Kim Jong Il to take over when he died in 1994.

“Kim Jong Il has been working to put in place a group of people who should facilitate the succession process for his son … and to establish multiple power centers to provide support and guidance to the heir-apparent should he suddenly pass away,” said analyst Sarah McDowall of the IHS Janes Dence weekly.

But “there is now a heightened risk of an upturn in factional tensions within the North Korean political elite as senior political figures, doubting the capabilities of Jong Un, could initiate a power struggle,” she said in e-mailed comments.

North Korea held a missile test on Monday, reports said, though it remained unclear whether it was a pre-planned exercise or a show of force.

South Korea put its 500,000-strong army on high alert on Monday and held talks with Tokyo and Washington, two other opponents of Pyongyang.

Regional markets slid over concerns about possible destabilization in the region, with Korea’s KOSPI losing 4.1 percent, Shangai’s SSE Composite down 2.5 percent and the Australian S&P/ASX down 2.3 percent, Reuters reported.

“Much will depend on whether outside forces will exert pressure on the country,” said researcher Yevgeny Kim, referring to the United States and South Korea. Neither country made any demands to Pyongyang on Monday.

Raising a parallel with the Soviet Union, Kim said the possible emergence of a figure similar to progressive Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev could lead to the “destruction” of the North Korean regime.

But Pavel Leshakov, a Korea expert at Moscow State University, said the Soviet example has taught the North Korean elite not to embrace outright reformism, Gazeta.ru reported.

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