He used the opportunity to announce important policy statements.

Footage taken from North Korean state media.

Kim Jong Il is dead and the balance of power in North Korea is not clear. Cato Institute Senior Fellow Doug Bandow comments.  

Kim Jong-il is dead and the balance of power in North Korea is not clear.  

Syria allows foreign journalists to shoot video in Homs, a hotbed of the uprising against President Bashar Assad. The Syrian government closely supervised the journalists.

The last troops to leave Iraq prepared for the worst but managed to cross the border into Kuwait without firing a bullet.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong IL is dead. The dictator is well known for the starvation of his people as well as a central character in Team America: World Police by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

Michele Bachmann said opponent Ron Paul would be a 'dangerous' president in an interview with Rodney Hawkins, citing the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il.

The White House says it is too early to tell whether the death of Kim Jong Il opens the door for better U.S. relations with North Korea. Spokesman Jay Carney also urged Congress to extend a payroll tax cut that may end Jan.1.

Secretary of State Clinton said that the U.S. has interest in 'peaceful, stable transition in North Korea.'

The Republican presidential candidate on 'Fox News Sunday'.

Is the missile test related to Kim Jong-il's death?

2012 candidate on death of Kim Jong Il, economy

As his people wept, world leaders reacted to the death of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il. China expressed shock and sent condolences, while the White House and State Department would only say they are monitoring the situation closely.