Kim Jong-il's death - the real circumstances

And his last words were: "Great, but is it hard enough to..."

And, in related news:

The DPRK awarded the title of labor hero of the DPRK and the gold medal (hammer and sickle) and the First Class of the Order of National Flag to the lathe No. 26 at the Pyongyang Textile Machine Factory.

Lathe No. 26 is the historic lathe which leader Kim Jong Il personally operated when he came to this factory for production practice during his days of study at Kim Il Sung University.

According to persistent rumors, the lathe is the real power behind the scenes of the secretive NK leadership, issuing orders related to the country's internal affairs and actively interfering in international affairs as well. For instance, several experts in NK politics identify the communique titled South Korean Regime Accused of Provoking DPRK as being authored by the lathe. As proof of this claim they offer the following passages:

The puppet regime infiltrated its warships deep into the territorial waters of the DPRK southwest of Yonphyong Islands and fired bullets and shells at civilian fishing boats of a foreign country. Following this grave military provocation, it has resorted to war-like actions, seriously irritating the DPRK.

and:

In step with this, the ultra conservative media, philistine and human scum are busy spreading the "rumor of the north's intervention in the presidential election". They are alleging that the north is creating instability ahead of the presidential election in south Korea and that there is possibility of additional provocation.

So far all the experts agree that for now the lathe is content with pulling the strings from behind the scene, but no one is ready to predict how long it will remain satisfied with this state of affairs.