Mixed Reactions After Ruler Dies

Kim, 69, was widely considered a second-generation dictator who defied global condemnation to build nuclear weapons while his people starved.

North Korea fell deeper into poverty while he was in power. During his time as leader, Kim’s country experienced a famine that killed hundreds of thousands of people in the late 1990s and he continued a nuclear weapons program that included tests in 2006 and 2009.

“He was always gung ho about developing and using atomic bombs,” said Terence Park, coalition leader of Our Flushing Political Coalition. “He was despicable and controlled his people with an iron fist.”

Kim died of a heart attack brought on by mental and physical strain while on a domestic train trip, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

“It is great news for North Korea because he was the worst dictator in the world,” said John Park of the Korean-American Political Empowerment Association in Flushing.

The death of the leader has left many questions regarding both the future of North Korea and the safety of South Korea. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has ordered his military forces on high alert.

“It is dangerous because North Korea is unpredictable,” John Park said. “I don’t expect war, but I expect for them to let people free. A lot of people suffer from starvation.”

Kim came to power after the death of his father and North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung in 1994. He leaves behind an economy less than three percent the size of South Korea’s.

“Their economy is terrible. I think they only produce coal for China,” John Park said. “Maybe they produce illegal weapons to other countries.”

Kim Jong-un, the deceased leader’s little-known youngest son, was named by North Korea’s official news agency as the “great successor” to his father. The son is believed to be between 27 and 29 years old.

Terence Park expressed gratitude that the elderly Kim is gone, but he was uncertain about what kind of effect his son will have as the new ruler of North Korea.

“We will see if he is able to control and stabilize the political situation,” Terence Park said. “If he is not able to do that then God knows what will happen. He may be overthrown or used as a puppet, but it is yet to be seen.”

Many South Korean Queens residents are hopeful that the change in regime will unite a country that has been in disarray for a long time.

Hahn, a Flushing activist, believes that Kim Jong-un’s experience studying in Switzerland, a Western culture, might bring about a difference of ruling power.

“I am uneasy about it because I don’t know if it will be for better or worse,” Hahn said. “I hope he did not get so much of his DNA from his grandfather and father.”

The New York Times reported Wednesday that analysts said the rush to establish the young Kim’s leadership, while the nation was still grieving over his father’s death, was a signal of his vulnerability. Meanwhile, both South Korea and the United States have made discreet overtures to the new regime.