North Korea's Kim moves to anoint youngest son as heir

[derby378]

Source: Reuters

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has told top officials to pledge loyalty to his youngest son, signaling his anointment as heir to the family dynasty that has ruled since the state's founding, a lawmaker and South Korean media said on Tuesday.

Kim, 67, is thought to have suffered a stroke in August that raised questions about his continued control. Analysts have said the North's recent military grandstanding, including a nuclear test last week, may be aimed at helping him solidify power so he can name a successor.

North Korea has asked the country's main bodies and its overseas missions to pledge loyalty to Kim's youngest son Kim Jong-un, various South Korean media outlets quoted informed sources as saying.

...

Kim Jong-un, born either in 1983 or early 1984, was educated in Switzerland and intelligence sources have said he appears to be the most capable of Kim's three known sons.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSSEO1200542...

[ohio2007]

1. Why not annoint the whiskey drinker that went incognito to the Japanese amusement park ?

He liked the lifestyle, bright lights and big cities of the west.

[izquierdista]

2. Let me guess

His other sons are Kim Jong-deux and Kim Jong-trois. And I thought Charlie Chan was a stereotype.....

[Posteritatis]

3. Wow, he's younger than I am by a couple of years

Between that and bypassing Kim's other sons I wonder what the guy's chances are if he actually takes power.

[New Dawn]

4. Note the source: "a [South Korean] lawmaker and South Korean media said"

If this story were true, it would definitely be covered in the North Korean media: http://www.kcna.co.jp/index-e.htm

There is no mention of it.

[Posteritatis]

5. North Korea's last designated successor was chosen six years before he was officially named (nt)

[New Dawn]

6. Actually, there was no "designated successor" when Kim Il-Sung died.

For several years after Kim Il-Sung's death, there was a power struggle between Kim Yong Nam and Kim Jong-il.

[Posteritatis]

7. Kim Jong-il was announced as successor at the 1980 congress

Of course there'd be people who objected to the fact and fought over it - it's a Stalinist state with a family dynasty - but there was definitely a specific This Guy's Next After Me lined up by Kim Il-Sung.

Jong-un is going to be wearing the concentric circles even if he is officially confirmed, of course.

[New Dawn]

8. I found a source explaining the 1980 WPK congress, but no mention of any "designated successor"

http://countrystudies.us/north-korea/57.htm