On Monday, news came out of North Korea that Kim Jong Il, its leader since 1994, had died. The reaction south of the border was nervous. South Korean equities markets tumbled while every major Asian currency fell on the US dollar as traders priced in immediate political repercussions and a potential power vacuum at the world’s largest Stalinist state.

Shares on South Korea's leading equity index, the Kospi Composite, fell by more than 2% when news of Kim's death hit the wires. They went on to lose some 4.6% by late afternoon trading, before staging a small recovery rally to close down 3.4% at 1,776. Options on the index are the world's most traded derivative.