You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
China-Japan-Koreas
Norks notify institutions of nomination of Jong-un as successor
2009-06-02
SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- North Korean authorities have notified the country's key institutions that leader Kim Jong-il has designated his third son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor, a source on North Korean affairs said Monday. "The authorities made the notification to the Workers' Party of Korea, the Korean People's Army, the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and the Cabinet shortly after its latest nuclear test on May 25," the source said on condition of anonimity.

The notification came more than four months after Kim Jong-il was reported to have designated Jong-un, 25, as his successor and delivered a directive on the nomination to the Workers' Party leadership on January 8. The latest notification is interpreted as the North's move to officially have the junior Kim recognized as the leader's heir apparent in North Korean society.
If we had a CIA worth anything we'd be nudging the other two sons to go after Jong-un ...
Because the internal notification was made right after the nuclear test, it appears the North intended to highlight Jong-un's leadership through the notification.

The source also said the North notified its overseas missions, requiring them not to reveal the notification to the outside.

The decision by the elder Kim, 67, comes earlier than expected and was likely driven by his poor health after suffering a stroke last August. If actualized, the junior Kim's succession would be the second father-to-son power transfer in the communist country, unprecedented in modern history.

Jong-un was born to Kim's third wife, Ko Yong-hi, who died of breast cancer at the age of 51 in 2004. Jong-un was educated at the International School of Berne and is known to be a fan of NBA basketball. After his return to Pyongyang in his late teens, the North has kept him under a shroud of secrecy, and very little is known about his character.

Kim Jong-il was 32 when he was tapped as successor by his father and the nation's founder, Kim Il-sung, in a general meeting of the Workers' Party in February 1974. He took over after his father's death in 1994.

Kim Jong-il's former sushi chef, Kenji Fujimoto, said in a 2003 memoir that the elder Kim considers his second son, Jong-chol, to be "girlish." Kim's eldest son, Jong-nam, 37, also reportedly fell from his father's favor after being caught using a fake Dominican passport to get to Tokyo Disneyland in 2001.
Posted by:Steve White

#12  In the drawing he kinda looks like the cop Poncho from Chips with that horrible center part feathery hair.
Posted by: GirlThursday   2009-06-02 22:54  

#11  so true!

/Sons of Enver Hoxha
Posted by: Frank G   2009-06-02 22:34  

#10  The keys to the Hermit Kingdom. Better than a dumb old sprocket any day.
Posted by: Seafarious   2009-06-02 22:17  

#9  Kim And Jong - ,hey you nuked alaska now what are you going to do?,
- 'we're going to disneyland!'
http://www.therazor.org/oldroot/Winter03/photos/kim-jong-mickey.JPG
Posted by: linker   2009-06-02 22:10  

#8  Oops, should have read the article (last paragraph) instead of just the comments. BTW, Jung-un's mother (2 sons) was Kimmie's favorite.
Posted by: ed   2009-06-02 19:43  

#7  Probably by process of elimination (metaphorically, this is NK). #3 son is the only one halfway normal or hasn't really embarrassed honorable father yet.
Posted by: ed   2009-06-02 19:35  

#6  That I have no idea. He might keep them to allow the Son to have some kind of pressure, or face saving gesture that can be used later.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2009-06-02 18:17  

#5  rjschwarz, do you think Mr. Kim, Sr. will free the American reporters to celebrate the crowning of the prince?
Posted by: trailing wife   2009-06-02 17:01  

#4  My guess is Kim pushed the Chinese too far and he had the choice of putting in a son they found favorable or a general chosen by the Chinese to take him and his family out. All of the rest is face-saving nonsense.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2009-06-02 15:07  

#3  The "general" was this same Kim Jong-un, funky skunk. Clever marketing move, right?
Posted by: trailing wife   2009-06-02 13:51  

#2  hey, what about the general from the report a couple days ago they where making the school kids learn the song about?
Posted by: funky skunk   2009-06-02 10:39  

#1  And this, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason for all this crap from North Korea lately. Kim Jong-Il is getting ready to turn over the reigns of power. Before he goes, he must make his mark as a "Great Leader" who stood up to the US so he will go down in Korean history as a brave man. All of this is more about securing his place in history than in any actual threat to anyone ... it is more for internal consumption.

BUT ... it is dangerous for a couple of reasons. Mainly because some idiot could really believe North Korea could actually win a war. The old man dies and a coup takes power from his wet-behind-the-ears kinder and off we go into death and destruction. Or the kid could believe it.

We could use this whole situation to rid the world of these idiots of we could manage to inflame enough fear to force the politicians to do something about it. Then a joint China/US action for "regime change" and reunification could take place and China would be a big hero for the Koreans. Lotteria would thank them, KFC would thank them ... hell ... Samsung would thank them.

Come on people, lets not waste a good crisis.
Posted by: crosspatch   2009-06-02 03:20  

00:00