Canada's Korean community appeared to be both jubilant and anxious on Monday as news of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's death spread across the country.
The enigmatic man, known as "Dear Leader" to North Koreans, reportedly died of a heart attack on Saturday after ruling the isolated communist nation for 17 years.
While mourners in the country's capital of Pyongyang -- the apparent apex of Kim's control -- are pouring into the streets to grieve, many Canadians have welcomed the leader's death.
"Korean Canadians will be very happy that Kim Jong Il has passed away," one community member in Toronto told 麻豆影视 on Monday.
For many, Kim's death is a symbolic end to a chapter in North Korean history that is rife with reports of human rights abuses, nuclear arms fears and an iron-clad grip on everyday affairs.
Interim Liberal Party leader Bob Rae resurrected Kim's less-than-glowing human rights record in a message posted to Twitter on Monday.
"All we can hope is that the death of dictator Kim Il Jung produces a change for the better. He oppressed and starved his people, risked war," Rae wrote.
Hope for a more transparent and free North Korea has been measured, though. With Kim's third son Kim Jong Un prepared to succeed his father, many worry that the young man will have a similarly strict style.
"When I hear the news for the first time, I was so surprised and I'm worried about the situation about that," one Korean-Canadian told CTV Toronto.
Many worry that Kim's death may fuel military tensions, and even spark violence, between longtime rivals North and South Korea.
Reports that North Korea reportedly conducted a short-range missile test off the country's east coast on Monday morning have stoked those fears.
In Toronto's Koreatown district, Sam Kook spent the morning watching news reports about Kim's death.
The local business owner, who left South Korea about 28 years ago, said he hopes Kim's death will open the door to co-operation between the North and the South.
"I wish they could be one country," he told CTV Toronto. "I know a lot of North Korean people, they are hungry and suffering."
The legacy of Kim's tight-fisted grip on information in North Korea still weighs on the mind of Jason Cho who said he doesn't trust the country's state media.
"I think it's fake. I don't think he's dead," said the Toronto resident.
Much about Kim's regime has been shrouded in secrecy since he first took power in 1994. Portraits of the so-called Supreme Leader hang in every building in North Korea but little is known about his personal life.
Kim's demise has left many Korean-Canadians wondering if the secluded nation will finally start to open up to the rest of the world.
Young Cho, a Canadian man of Korean descent, said he doesn't think many North Koreans are expecting seismic changes right now.
Speaking with 麻豆影视 Channel, he said the primary concern is whether Kim's death will trigger displays of political aggression between North and South Korea.
Even with those worries, Cho said Kim's demise has likely relieved many in the isolated communist nation.
"I think probably deep in their hearts almost everybody's glad to see him go more than anything else," he said.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney
