The North Korean leader’s youngest son Kim Jong-un has been appointed as a general, state media announced tonight, in the clearest signal yet that he is Kim Jong-il’s chosen heir.
But analysts said it was still uncertain whether the younger Kim would lead the country following his father’s death, and if so how independent he would be. They portrayed his current situation as effectively a probation period.
In its first ever mention of Kim Jong-un, state news agency KCNA said the 26- or 27-year-old had been given the rank of general.
“He will be the crown prince. That’s it. There is no doubt,” said Dr Kongdan Oh of the Brookings Institute. But she added: “The father provides a halo effect – the question is what happens when Kim Jong-il dies. That will be an interesting time.”
Professor Hazel Smith, a North Korea expert at Cranfield University, said: “This does not mark a transition [of power] as such, but probably marks a step towards the son becoming more public. We have not seen the end of the process here: there is an element of probation.” She added: “I don’t think he will be fully trusted [by everyone in the elites] – he has spent too much time outside the country.”
KCNA also reported that Kim’s sister Kyong-hui, who has accompanied him frequently on public outings in recent times, was also named as a general.
Let’s hope this apple has fallen far away from the tree. But, I won’t hold my breath.
We can hope the apple falls far away, but the truth is that he has been raised his entire life as the son of a grand holy leader, and that this transition is his birthright.
Quite frankly, I’d be more surprised to see that he isn’t more hardcore than his father.
The dictatorship is much larger than the dictator. If he does not please those immediately surrounding him, the flocks of cranes will likely be summoned early.
Jong-un is pronounced “young-un” ??
The ‘Democratic’ Republic of North Korea continues to flail around in its juche pride, and possibly will be for some time. Is that juche somehow related to the warped ‘bushido’ military cult of WWII Japan?
I’ve never been to Asia, but friends who have been there tell me that Japanese and Korea/China relations have some (probably vague) resonances with the Yankees vs. Southerners rivalry in the USA. Interesting. Anyone here with more knowledge about such things, please expand.
Obvious comment:
“Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss.”
rooks a rittle ronely to me
I’m not sure it even matters. North Korea is still headed by the eternal leader Kim Il Sung. Even death is not enough to retire him. Kim Jong Il is merely a fill in for his dead dad, and Kim Jong Un is just general.
They take cults to an extreme, their leaders become immortal upon death.
Can we just raise $100 million dollars and pay this family to move to some villa in Dubai?
The fact they made him a general, pretty much sums up who is really running things in the north.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Now let’s see, a democratic republic is when the government is directly chosen by the people and a republic is when government authority is derived through the will of the people.
Yeah, I guess N Korea qualifies.
Tell me, does he inherit his father’s porn collection? It’s rumored to be very open minded. Does he inherit his father’s trained maidens or will he have to recruit and train his own. The porn collection should help. Does he inherit his Dad’s platform shoes and hair stylist? It’s tough to be a world leader when you’re 5 feet 2 inches tall.
I suspect the apple has fallen into the roots of the tree.
Same as the old boss…
Kinda Chinky lookin’
#10
No he will not get his Dad’s porn collection as he has seen it all and now its boring.
He will train his own maidens, who wants dads’ leftovers? Anyway he likes ’em too skinny. Jr. wants them with some meat on their bones like them hot South Korean girls.
He’s not a platform shoe kind of ruler. He likes Italian leather shoes, cowboy chaps and a cape. Gotta have your own style!
And it is not tough to be a short leader. Most of them are not very tall.
Cursor_
Why are you Americans so hung-up and scared of North Korea? Even your government estimates them to spend less than 1% of US military spending on defense.
Check to see if the current “Boss” has also named his DOG A GENERAL AS WELL !!! Brain Rot may have set in !!!
I thought James Bond killed him ages ago …
4 Stiffie:
” Is that juche somehow related to the warped ‘bushido’ military cult of WWII Japan?”
Nope. Juche is a bastardization of self-reliance (LOL!) and Confucianism. There was a N.K. expert and scholar who went there. He read the Juche idea, and he basically said it was a rambling bunch of contradictions and B.S. that wasn’t really meant to be understood. In fact, you can’t understand it. He was also surprised that no one wanted to engage in discussion of it. Unlike Karl Marx’s books during communist hey-dey which were studied and debated and read by all, Juche is not read. Just understood to be the countries mantra. When he tried to discuss some of the points in it, he was just ignored and told to get ready for the next wonderful tourist site.
Can we get the troops off the peninsula? It’s only been 60 years.
Time for Selenium in daddy’s coffee…
He is nothing but a figurehead. The military cabal behind the scenes, anonymous and hence dangerous.
Is that a bit of sperm on his cheek?
We will just send over Sarah Palin’s daughters to corrupt him. Victory!