Korea shares slide on reports of Kim Jong-il's death

Investors looking at share prices South Korea's central bank said it will hold an emergency meeting Korean shares have fallen after North Korea's state media announced the death of the country's leader Kim Jong-il. The benchmark Kospi index fell as much as 4.9% after the news first broke. It was recently trading 3.7% lower. The Bank of Korea said it would hold an emergency meeting following the death of Mr Kim. Analysts said markets may remain unpredictable in the coming days amid questions about a smooth succession to a new leader. "The shock on the market will be inevitable in the short term," said Bae Sung-Young from Hyundai Securities. "Judging from the past cases, I forecast the impact to last for two to three days only." However, the analyst said that market volatility may last longer this time as the death came when the succession process still looks incomplete. In September 2010, Mr Kim introduced his third son Kim Jong-un as his successor.