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| Kim Jong-il's Heir |
| Will the 'leadership' be handed down to Kim's sons or to trusted allies? |
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Beom-seok Sohn (gmitil10)  |
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Published 2009-06-14 12:54 (KST) |
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| This article is lightly edited. <Editor's Note> |
In light of Kim Jong-il’s deteriorating health, questions and speculations began to arise regarding his successor. I have attempted to analyze the possible candidates (ranging anywhere from his first son, Kim Jong-nam, to his brother-in-law, Chang Song-taek) in a previous article. Regardless, recent news articles and reports indicate that Kim Jong-il selected his third son, Kim Jong-un, to be his eventual heir. Although it may seem otherwise, this is not a surprising pick for various reasons.
So who exactly is Kim Jong-un, and why was he chosen to succeed Kim Jong-il?
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FROM THE SECTION |
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| Believed to be around 25 years old, Jong-un was educated in Switzerland during his youth. Certain sources, including Kenji Fujimoto (Kim Jong-il’s former chef), claim that Kim Jong-un is “exactly like his father”. Fujimoto is also quoted as explaining that “If power is to be handed over then Jong-un is the best for it”. Fujimoto went on to claim that Jong-un has "superb physical gifts", drinks heavily and "never admits defeat”.
This is a direct contrast against the characteristics of Jong-un’s two older brothers. It may make sense initially to assume that the oldest son would be the automatic heir to the North Korean throne. However, Kim Jong-nam, the oldest son, has reportedly fallen out of Kim Jong-il’s favor after being caught trying to sneak into Japan to visit its brothels and the Tokyo Disneyland. This isn’t helped by the fact that Kim Jong-nam has many political enemies within the North Korean government itself.
Then what about the second son, Kim Jong-chol? It is true that Jong-chol had continued to maintain substantial support from within the North Korean military and government. However, reports indicate that Kim Jong-il considers Jong-chol to be too “feminine” to effectively lead his regime.
Others had speculated that Kim Jong-il may choose someone who is not directly related to himself, like Chang Song-taek (Kim Jong-il’s brother-in-law and reportedly one of his closest confidants) or Jo Myong-rok (Kim Jong-il’s second-in-command in military matters). Yet it seems at this point that Kim Jong-il has decided to follow the precedence that his father had set in selecting one of his sons as his heir.
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©2009 OhmyNews
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