China expresses 'shock' over Kim Jong Il's death

China, North Korea's closest ally on Monday expressed shock over the death of its dictator Kim Jong Il as Beijing braced to back his youngest son, Kim Jong Un as the next leader.

"We are shocked to learn that Democratic People's Republic of Korea leader comrade Kim Jong Il passed away and we hereby express our deep condolences on his demise and send sincere regards to the DPRK people," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said.

"Comrade Kim Jong Il was the great leader of the DPRK people, and an intimate friend of the Chinese people, and he had made important contribution to developing the DPRK's socialist cause and promoting good-neighbourly and cooperative relations between China and the DPRK," he said.

People of DPRK people will "definitely be able to turn sorrow into strength and remain united as one to continuously push forward the socialist cause of the DPRK," Ma said the two countries will work together "to continue to make positive contribution to  consolidating and developing traditional party-to-party, state-to-state and people-to- people friendship between the two sides and maintaining peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the region".

Besides reading Ma's statement, another Foreign Ministry spokesman, Liu Weimin declined to answer a spate of questions at the regular briefing on the impact of Kim's  death in the region and China-DPRK ties whether Beijing would back his son Kim Jong Un.

China for its part has already conveyed its tacit backing to Un after Kim made him his successor last year.  The announcement was made after his meeting Chinese President Hu Jintao.

However there is considerable anxiety in Beijing how Un would consolidate his power base as unlike his father he has not got much experience before taking over power.

As he suffered from long term illnesses, Kim has promoted his sister and her husband to important military posts last year to create three tyre power structure to ensure army's backing for Un, who according to analysts shared his father's intelligence as well  ruthlessness.

Though China will back him to the hilt, his period of consolidation is also a testing time for Beijing as North Korea is the only closest ally from the cold war era its fall to any movement of democracy could open Pandora's box for China itself as it shared land borders with DPRK, analysts said.

China is already feeling the affects of regime change in Myanmar, another of its long term ally as elected overnment opened the country inviting US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and steady prominence gained by Aung San Suu Kyi, with whom China had few links.

Beijing is also trying to stave off a united front of ASEAN states to reassert their claims on the South China Sea with the backing of US.