5 bizarre tales about Kim Jong-Il

The North Korean dictator died at the age of 69, and media reports have included a number of stories about the Communist leader. Here are five of the strangest.

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The brutal dictator “kept North Korea at the edge of starvation and collapse, banished to gulags citizens deemed disloyal and turned the country into a nuclear weapons state,” according to The New York Times.

In response to Kim’s reported death, the White House issued a statement saying:

We are closely monitoring reports that Kim Jong Il is dead. The President has been notified, and we are in close touch with our allies in South Korea and Japan. We remain committed to stability on the Korean peninsula, and to the freedom and security of our allies.

South Korea, meanwhile, is on high alert in the wake of Kim’s death, while Asian stock markets are reportedly down.

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