The wailing and gnashing of teeth inside North Korea was not entirely unexpected. That the death of Kim Jong-il has plunged other parts of the world into grief may come as more of a surprise.
Communist ally Cuba has declared three days of mourning, with flags to be flown at half mast, while Nicaragua and Venezuela also expressed sorrow. The Korean Central News Agency's website carries messages of condolence from the emir of Qatar, the former president of Moldova and the "Great King and Great Queen of Cambodia".
Not to be outdone in the contrarian stakes, Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe's loyalists have paid tribute to North Korea's "dear leader", who died from a heart attack aged 69.
"He was a lovely man whom we associated with," Didymus Mutasa, the secretary of administration for Mugabe's Zanu-PF party, told Zimbabwe's Voice of the People radio. "He was our great friend, and we are not ashamed of being associated with him." » | David Smith in Johannesburg | Wednesday, December 21, 2011
