All eyes on North Korea after death of Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il with son Kim Jong-un: photo - PAP/EPA/STF

Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski, "hopes that after the death of the North Korean leader, authorities will act responsibly and in accordance with the expectations of the international community and the Korean nation,” the statement says.

Kim Jong-il, known as the 'dear leader' in North Korea, died of a heart attack at the age of 69 years-old, a tearful newsreader announced this morning on North Korean state TV.

The region is now on full alert, in fear that the nuclear-armed nation may de-stabilize.

Poland is a member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, which has been monitoring the situation on the Peninsula since the 1953 Korean War.

"Poland, as an active member of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, is hoping that the new authorities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea return to six-party negotiations for the de-nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," says the Polish Foreign Ministry statement.

“The method in which the authorities and citizens […] decide how to choose a successor will have relevance for the future security of the Korean Peninsula. Every nation has the right to live in peace, freedom and democracy,” concludes the statement.

Kim Jong-il has long been grooming his son, Kim Jong-un, to take over leadership of the so-called 'hermit state'. (pg)