Official North Korean Twitter Account Silent on Kim Jong-il

By Gilbert Falso :: 11:55 PM

The official Twitter account of North Korea, media outlet Uriminzokkiri (@uriminzok), is silent about the death of the country’s long-time reclusive leader, Kim Jong -il.

Jong-il, who had been in ill health following a stroke in 2008, died on Saturday, according to the country’s official news media reports. The New York Times writes that Korea’s Central television station reported, “Our great leader Comrade Kim Jong-il passed away at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 17.”

A check of the communist nation’s Twitter account as of 11:00 PM Eastern US time on December 18 shows no acknowledgement or announcement of the death. The last message, translated, reads: “As far as the public wants peace and stability on the outer surface of the demands and threatened to do . . . hooked up to the war and backstabbing as you run riot strained situation of the puppet authorities and the conservative south Korea strongly denounced inside and outside of all . . .” Earlier messages from the same day show no mention of Jong-Il’s passing either.

North Korea opened up its Twitter account in August 2010. The usually insular nation also has a YouTube presence as well as a Flickr account.