N. Korea Nukey - It's the Leader Succession, ...?

06-02-2009, 07:57 PM

Analysts start to wonder if this contributes to reasons for underground nuclear tests and recent military crank -

N. Korean Leader's Youngest Son Named Successor
By Blaine Harden - Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, June 2, 2009; 9:41 AM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...src=newsletter

TOKYO, June 2 -- North Korea's ailing leader has chosen his youngest son -- who is just 26, attended a Swiss boarding school and reportedly admires basketball great Michael Jordan -- as heir to the family dynasty that rules the secretive state, South Korea's intelligence service told lawmakers in Seoul.

Kim Jong Un is the third son of Kim Jong Il, the "Dear Leader" who suffered a stroke last summer and who has since appeared thin and frail. He is the grandson of the late Kim Il Sung, the "Great Leader" and founding dictator of North Korea.

If Kim Jong Un does become the new leader -- and there are analysts who doubt the decision is final -- this second consecutive father-to-son handoff would be unique among nations that call themselves communist. There was no indication, however, that Kim Jong Il would be handing over power any time soon.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service declined to confirm the reports.

Kim Jong Un attended the International School of Berne, which is about 15 minutes outside the Swiss capital and a few hundred yards from the North Korean embassy. While Kim was at the English-language school, which has about 280 students from 40 countries, he befriended the children of American diplomats and learned French and German, according to the Swiss weekly L'Hebdo.

Kim attended the school under the false name of Pak Chol, the weekly said, and school officials and his classmates "thought they were dealing with the son of the driver of the embassy." Friends and staff at the school remembered a shy boy who enjoyed skiing, loved the National Basketball Association and spoke highly of action-movie actor Jean-Claude Van Damme.

He reportedly left the school at 15 to return to North Korea, and little about his life there is known by the outside world...

06-02-2009, 07:57 PM	#1
no caste Guest Posts: n/a	N. Korea Nukey - It's the Leader Succession, ...? Analysts start to wonder if this contributes to reasons for underground nuclear tests and recent military crank - N. Korean Leader's Youngest Son Named Successor By Blaine Harden - Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, June 2, 2009; 9:41 AM http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...src=newsletter TOKYO, June 2 -- North Korea's ailing leader has chosen his youngest son -- who is just 26, attended a Swiss boarding school and reportedly admires basketball great Michael Jordan -- as heir to the family dynasty that rules the secretive state, South Korea's intelligence service told lawmakers in Seoul. Kim Jong Un is the third son of Kim Jong Il, the "Dear Leader" who suffered a stroke last summer and who has since appeared thin and frail. He is the grandson of the late Kim Il Sung, the "Great Leader" and founding dictator of North Korea. If Kim Jong Un does become the new leader -- and there are analysts who doubt the decision is final -- this second consecutive father-to-son handoff would be unique among nations that call themselves communist. There was no indication, however, that Kim Jong Il would be handing over power any time soon. South Korea's National Intelligence Service declined to confirm the reports. Kim Jong Un attended the International School of Berne, which is about 15 minutes outside the Swiss capital and a few hundred yards from the North Korean embassy. While Kim was at the English-language school, which has about 280 students from 40 countries, he befriended the children of American diplomats and learned French and German, according to the Swiss weekly L'Hebdo. Kim attended the school under the false name of Pak Chol, the weekly said, and school officials and his classmates "thought they were dealing with the son of the driver of the embassy." Friends and staff at the school remembered a shy boy who enjoyed skiing, loved the National Basketball Association and spoke highly of action-movie actor Jean-Claude Van Damme. He reportedly left the school at 15 to return to North Korea, and little about his life there is known by the outside world...