“Ask a North Korean” is an NK News series featuring interviews with and columns by North Korean defectors, most of whom left the DPRK within the last few years.

Readers may submit their questions for defectors by emailing [email protected] and including their first name and city of residence.

Today’s question is about how North Koreans responded when they learned about Kim Jong Il’s sudden death on Dec. 17, 2011.

Rose — who was born and raised in North Korea and lived there until she defected in 2019 — writes about citizens’ genuine sorrow at Kim Il Sung’s passing in 1994,