nbc's bruce hall has more. >> reporter: even in death, many of he details of kim yong il's life are elusive, cloaked in secrecy that surrounded much of his rule in north korea. in 1964 kim graduated from kim i will song university and was group groomed to take over the country. in 1991 he achieved real power when despite his lack of military experience, kim yong il took control of the armed forces. with his father's death in '94, he took over the leadership. north korea fell deeper into povr poverty, struggling to feed and provide for its own people. in the wake of the september 11th terrorist attacks kim yong il and north korea were thrust into the forefront. president bush labeled north korea one of the world's most dangerous regimes. >> states like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil arming to threat then the peace of the world. >> reporter: they played a cat and mouse game with the nuclear program. he continued to threaten the world with nuclear attack. some called him vain with' delusional persona, but others said he was a cleaver manipulator willing to take ris

after his death in 1994, his son, kim yong-il, took over.e sought an economy independent of the outside world. it was controlled by the state. north korea has plenty of raw materials, but 6 million people suffer from malnutrition. the regime spends more on arms and military than on providing for its people. it is thought that north korea has been working on its nuclear weapons program since the late- 1980's. in 2005, pyongyang declared it had a fully operational nuclear bomb. since then, it has performed a number of test launches of long- range rockets, as well as underground tests. >> let's go back to the korea expert. what can you tell us about the real power brokers in north korea, the top military brass? what kind of contact to they have with the outside world? -- do they have with the outside world? >> they are very informed about the situation outside of north korea. they know very well that any kind of information leaked out said the country -- outside the country would destabilize the regime. they keep the country closed. in that way

at one point during the system, he was accompanied by the country's number two official, kim yong nam. the korean people's army chief of staff was also there. north korean authorities apparently had kim jong un make an early public appearance to assure the people that the transition of power will be stable, and to get them to rally around him as their new leader. >>> now joining me in the studio is nhk's hiruki. >> why are these public displays and declarations by state media so important for kim jong un? >>> well it's very important to have the north korean people pledge their allegiance to him. we cannot say this transition is yet complete. i will explain using kim jong-il's family tree. the eldest son should succeed his father. korean tradition dictates the eldest son, kim jong nam should succeed his father. his oldest son was not seen as a favorite. he has lived overseas for many years and is said to be fluent in several languages such as english and french. and he is also supposed to be well-versed in information technology. but, in 2001, he was deported from japan after trying t

north koreans are paying their last respects to their late longstanding leader kim yong ale while the neighbors of the reclusive nuclear state stay on high alert fearing his death will spark instability in the region. we're going to be the transformative moment word social and economic justice in america this by critics warning the anti-corporate protests would not last until the winter and police have a hand in this three months on the occupy movement is still gaining momentum. this is already coming to you live from moscow i'm marina joshua welcome to the program now some groups in syria's opposition say they want an arab military intervention to quote protect civilians from government security forces they spoke after damascus signed an arab league protocol allowing observers to monetary regional peace initiative to and of months of bloodshed part of the opposition dismissed the deal as a stalling tactic syria has been increasingly isolated under sanctions from arab states the u.s. and the e.u. over its crackdown on the anti-government protesters have already saying they are fightin

by his son kim yong will mean any change especially amongst the younger generations one can expect that there should be some easing up especially this tendency of socially engineered massive occasion where they all they do all everything together even cry together now i think that the important thing here to understand is that for example the south korea being our military or it's not south korea that is our military or it's the united states that is actually using south korea as a beachhead ever since at the end of the korean war the other hand we have to understand or should be asking ourselves will the military the north korean military which are very powerful one million strong army four million reserve nuclear arms ballistic missiles will they really be subordinated to the new government or will they have a larger stance of the us i cannot see however these things because north korea will undoubtedly not do that which china does not allow we have to always interpret north korea within the scope of the regional geopolitics of china which is the key power in the region we've bee

nuclear watchdog to discuss the security situation in and around north korea and how kim yong alles death may disturb the shaky stability in the region. well i'm joined by mr hans blix from stockholm mr blix chaired the international atomic agency for energy agency for sixteen years and was the had of the u.n. inspections team in iraq prior to the second iraqi war mr blix it's great to have you with us sir now i'd like to start with i say latest news came young male who during who seventeen year old rule north korea has emerged as a nuclear state has died of a heart failure now his son king young and is the next national leader what do we know about him are things going to stay pretty much the same or a race where general security under threat how vigorously will his push for nuclear weapons. will we are generally rather dinner and about the. architecture of the power building in north korea. but the changes be underway for some time but of course we'll keep you on your. group didn't figure is . there's always a risk to in such a structure that can be changes i think it is important to th

by a weeping news cast and thousands of people were shown crying on the streets is youngest son kim yong has already been named as supremely leader now to keep the delisting going the former rumors bodies now lying in state in the capital pyongyang as north koreans continue to pay their final respects for the funeral planned for december the twenty eight news of his death put the country's neighbors on high alert in the week japan called a special security meeting fearing instability in the region while south korea says its military is on standby independent journalist james corbett told us he believes that north korea is being used by china and the u.s. as a pawn in their own political games in the region. the north has always been the sort of madwoman in the attic when it comes to east asian politics and it serves as i think a useful function for a number of parties in the region not only as a sort of proxy for china which has been really propping up the regime internationally by giving it its support on the international skip stage which can then use the menace of north korea and be s

been declared the supreme leader for the first time at a massive public memorial for his father kim yong ale the move shows the government and military officials support of the air in the wake of kim yon ells death from a hard to town just under two weeks ago kim ya known is in his late twenty's and has little political experience raising concern from neighboring countries that the republic could plunge into political infighting. with the. clashes have erupted between hundreds of stone throwing protesters and police in the turkish city obvious stamboul and a country's mainly courage if se a follows a deadly airstrike launched by turkish warplanes against suspected kurdish militants on the border with iran however a local official said tad killed thirty five smugglers who were mistaken for insurgents itself marks one of the largest one day civilian shows during turkey's twenty seven year draw against the guerrillas. swapping tinsel town for a russian city with an olympic crown an american taxi driver has turned his back on the bright lights of hollywood to share in. the venue for the next

kenyatta all will be laid to rest in a week at a ceremony close to foreign delegations his youngest son kim yong known has already been named as the great successor and the people have been told to unite behind him but as independent journalist jim sharp told r.t. what secrecy surrounding the new leader it's hard to guess what his ten year will bring he's only been around for three years in the public light he went to school in switzerland apparently he knows a lot about how the internet works and he knows a lot about social media but beyond that we know very little except he's been appointed a four star general and it did take kim jong il who just passed quite a few years to actually gain total acceptance with the power structure there with the powers that be there in the in the party in the government to actually you know take firm control so obviously he has no military training very very you know this year or next to zero military experience but i think what these two leaders this closely held leadership in north korea once is a symbol of their regime and this is a clear you know successor s

north koreans are paying their last respects to their allayed so longstanding leader kim yong alle who died of heart attack at the age of sixty nine on saturday his death was only announced on monday and has sent shock waves around the country and the whole region a stream of mourners including his son and successor kim yano and passed by open coffin the late leader will be buried in a week images from the world's most reclusive nation also show thousands of people uncontrollably reaping on the streets meanwhile north korea's neighbors are on high alert following the news of the death fearing it will spark instability in the region japan's government has called a special security meeting while south korea said its armed forces are combat ready but some experts believe peace on the korean peninsula is determined not by relations between north and south but by a standoff between china and america. important thing here to understand is that for example the top of south korea being on military alert it's not south korea that is on military alert it's the united states that is actually usin

many people are wondering what will the people hold now that kim yong ill is dead. >> we were there in 2008. it was around the time that there were ne dpoeg going on. they came into fruition in 2008. when we saw the nuclear tower blown up. but it was a moment of hope then that came to an end in the summer of 2008 because about that time most people suspect that kim jong-il suffered a stroke and negotiations fell apart. there are report that over the next several months they have been talking and there were report that a food deal could be announced and the new tliunewtr deal between the united states and this week. but there mighting some deal and movement on a nuclear deal agreeing to suspend their enrichment activity. this has been not announced. this has pn know dpoeshiated. they had hoped to be able to pring to fruition. yoo everyone is looking to a man who we know little about. we heard mike giving you more he details that he is a quiet he polite man, pu is thissy man who can, create the personality that his father and grand father did? >> it is probably unlikely that he will be a

. >> kim yong inherented power after his father, the founder died. he followed his father's military first policy devoting much of the country's resources to the military. he defied global condemnation and built up a nuclear arms resource. he conducted a nuclear test understood ground. in july 2009 kim defied threats of united nations sanction to test a second nuclear device and a ballistic missell capable of strike alaska. today we spoke to professor knox who says it will defie the future. >> he had such a style in his tightly woven society is worrisome because you don't know what you're going to do. >> reporter: kim jong declared his third son as the commander. it is unclear if there could be a power struggle. >>> the white house released a statement tonight saying the president is aware of the north korean leader's death. president obama is monitoring the situation and the u.s. is in close contact with its allies. south korea put its military in high alert. the south korean and u.s. military have beefed up their reconnaissance and intelligence ass

. >> there's not a lot of information out there about kim yong i will's thijong-il's thir. kim jong eun was made a four-star general. he may have gone to switzerland and is capable of speaking english, german, and french. at one point his eldest son was considered the top candidate to succeed his father. he was reportedly dismissed after he got cut trying to sneak into tokyo's disneyland using a fake passport. >>> the obama administration is keeping a close eye on north korea trying to keep signs of instability, lee myung-bak agreed to closely monitor events in the north. meanti meantime, the united states is concerned about any changes kim's death might spark in the military postures of north and south korea. >> the news of kim jong-il's death sent asian stocks down today. right now european stocks are up and u.s. futures are up as well. >>> we'll take a live look at capitol hill where a vote is expected to take place later on tonight. gop leaders are already hinting the bill will not pass. the senate proposal passed on saturday extends the tax holiday and long-term unemplo

national intelligence service to not know that the leader, kim jong il, had passed away, i think, regardless of reason, is unacceptable. >> that was kung yongsaying he's basically not happy with the answers coming out of north korea. >>> north korea is the most closed country on earth. our tom foreman explains why it poses a threat to south korea and beyond. >> reporter: for a poor country, north korea has long spent a disproportionate amount making its army look strong. what concerns military analysts most, however, is what we cannot see. first, the nuclear threat. under the obsessive prodding of kim jong il, the secret nation has been enriching uranium and a massing plutonium, perhaps in sites enough to make 6 or 8 plouutonium weapons or more. they could reach south korea, japan, maybe hawaii or north america. another theory is that nukes could be hidden on merchant ships and sailed to ports around the globe. second, the artillery threat. after the korea war, the north was heavily supported by russia. that stopped in the early '90s. but analysts say they've retained hundreds of pieces from that era and have added many more rockets and skc

kim jong-un shot to be in full control of the isolated nation. he, believed to be 27 or 28 years old. he's the the youngest of yong *'s sons.ucated in switzerland. he's not to be fluent in english and german. let's go to the campaign trail where republican candidates are launching a new ad push and ramming up campaign stops with just about two weeks to go until the iowa caucuses. carl cameron is live in davenport, iowa. what's happening there, carl? >> reporter: we are here at global security services where newt gingrich will be holding a meeting. it could be difficult to muster a crowd for mr. gingrich who has not been advertising or as prevalent on the ground. while mr. gingrich and most of the other candidates are running some commercial advertising on their own. we have seen the surge in the super packs that can raise unlimited amounts of money and attack their rivals. a new super pac independent of the romney campaign, but backing the massachusetts governor is on the air with an attack on newt gingrich. it's rough. mr. begin grip of does have a super pac supporting him. but he doesn't want anyone supporting him to go n