N. Korea -- autocratic dictator died Sunday -- Test-missiles fired Monday Dec. 19

from NY TIMES coverage (David Sanger co-writing with Choe Sang-Hun) -- 12/19/2011 edition
. . . the South Korean news agency reported that North Korea tested an unspecified number of short-range missiles on Monday morning. The national news agency, Yonhap, quoting an anonymous government source, said without elaboration that the tests were conducted before the announcement of Mr. Kim’s death from a heart attack. The Defense Ministry in Seoul said it could not comment on the report.
North Korea had kept news of the death of its leader secret for roughly two days, perhaps a sign that the leadership was struggling to position itself for what many believe could be a particularly perilous transition.
Mr. Kim’s chosen successor, his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, was in charge.
The statement called the son "the great successor to the revolution" and "the eminent leader of the military and the people." It was the first time North Korea referred to the son as "leader" since his ailing father pulled him out of obscurity in September last year and made him a four-star general and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party.
The Workers’ Party said that “Under the leadership of our comrade Kim Jong-un, we have to turn sadness into strength and courage, and overcome today’s difficulties.”
K.C.N.A., the official news agency, said North Korean soldiers and citizens were swearing allegiance to Kim Jong-un. People on the streets of Pyongyang broke into tears as they learned of Mr. Kim’s death, The Associated Press reported from Pyongyang. 
Kim Jong-un is believed to be in his late 20s and his youth and relative inexperience could make him vulnerable to power struggles; some analysts have questioned the depth of the military’s support for him.
The Obama administration was engaged in urgent consultations with South Korean officials on Sunday evening. President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea and President Obama talked by telephone and agreed to closely cooperate in assessing the situation in North Korea, Mr. Lee’s office said.
The administration has done elaborate “war-gaming” on the repercussions of Mr. Kim’s death, the official said, and that planning will now be put to the test.
One area of concern is the potential for tension, or even military clashes, between the North and South during the leadership transition in Pyongyang. In 1994, after Kim Jong-il’s father died, South Korea put its military forces on high alert, raising tensions.
The United States had held meetings with North Korean diplomats, in what was viewed as a preliminary step toward possible multilateral talks over its nuclear program. But those contacts did not appear extensive enough to provide a channel of communication during this period.
For now, the administration official said, the administration’s top priority is on keeping a high-level dialogue with South Korea. Japan’s foreign minister, Koichiro Genba, is in Washington on other business, and will meet Monday with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. . .
The North declared a national mourning period from the day of Kim Jong-il’s death until Dec. 29. It said Mr. Kim’s body will be placed at the Kumsusan mausoleum in Pyongyang, where the body of his father, Kim Il-sung, lies in a glass case for viewing. The authorities will allow North Koreans to pay respects to Mr. Kim for a week starting on Tuesday, but said it would not receive foreign delegations.
An enormous funeral service is scheduled for Dec. 28 in Pyongyang, according to K.C.N.A., a state news agency. The following day, a separate “national meeting of mourning” will take place, with all North Koreans instructed to pay a three-minute silent tribute to Mr. Kim.
www.nytimes.com/ World / Asia Desk