Dmitry Astakhov/Pool via EPA

The death of 69-year-old Kim Jong Il was confirmed on Monday. As soon as the news of the longtime dictator's demise broke, Twitter users began doing what they do best — rushing to beat each other to every punchline.

And the punchlines were certainly likely to flow. In life, the mysterious — often reviled — North Korean dictator was the butt of many jokes, due to eccentricities of appearance and behavior. When the state media explained that the leader died of "great mental and physical strain" during a train ride, the Internet's denizens couldn't help but snicker. Those who knew who Kim Jong Il even was, that is.

I took the time to round up some of the early reactions and jokes posted by Twitter users below. You'll notice that they include what can now be considered a standard mix of responses — the obvious puns, the confused users, and the complaints over the overabundance of jokes.

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• Kim Jong Il remembered as 'Team America' star

Want more tech news, silly puns, or amusing links? You'll get plenty of all three if you keep up with Rosa Golijan, the writer of this post, by following her on Twitter, subscribing to her Facebook posts, or circling her on Google+.