Kim Jong-il chooses third son as his successor

Telegraph UK ^ | June 2, 2009 | Malcolm Moore

[SolidWood]

Kim Jong-il has formally named his third son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor as he prepares to stand down as North Korea's leader.

Kim Jong-il, 67, who is known as North Korea's "Dear Leader", suffered a stroke at the end of last year and has been incapacitated ever since.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service has now confirmed that the Korean People's Army, the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and the ministerial cabinet have been asked to pledge their allegiance to Kim Jong-un, 25, the youngest member of the world's only Communist ruling dynasty.

"I was notified by the South Korean government of such moves and the loyalty pledges," said Park Jie-won of the South Korean Democratic Party, and a member of the government intelligence committee.

Kim Jong-un's elevation comes at the expense of his two older brothers, each of whom had previously been in contention to take the helm. Kim Jong-nam, the eldest, ruled himself out when he was caught trying to visit Disneyland in Japan on a fake passport in 2001. The middle brother, Kim Jong-chul, is apparently too "girlish" to rule.

[SolidWood]

[allmost]

He’s not long for this world anyway you slice it.

[mmanager]

Finally a world leader that Obama probably can connect with!

[M. Espinola]

North Korea's Stalinist cabal. What a missed opportunity!

[Lurking in Kansas]

... caught trying to visit Disneyland in Japan on a fake passport in 2001. The middle brother, Kim Jong-chul, is apparently too "girlish" to rule.

LOL... you can't make this stuff up ... what's the problem? ...obviously the 2 older boys are just like their old man...

[SampleMan]

I had an interesting thought the other day. Kim wants to continue the dynasty, but there are rumblings that powerful generals do not want to continue it.

What he needs is a good old Stalinist purge of the generals, however if they are powerful enough they may strike back in self defense before he can complete it.

So what to do? How about setting off nukes and threatening the world in the hope that the U.S. will conduct some strategic strikes. Some of the generals Kim wants dead would then get taken care of by us, while he could kill others and blame the deaths on the Americans.

Just a thought.

[lafroste]

It may be just the opposite. If chia pet provokes the US to strike, we’d likely be aiming right at him. Thus we take him out for the general puppet-masters that engineered the fiasco.

[A Navy Vet]

AIT. What think you? Good or bad?

[SampleMan]

To quote Bugs Bunny, “Could be.”

[AmericanInTokyo]

Bad. But expected. Thing is, there will be a lot of disatisfaction among the 朝鮮労働党 (Workers Party) and KPA military elite that none of them can never hope to rise to "leader" because they are not a member of the Dynasty. That is bound to piss off some people, most of them armed in some way. Who knows how Jong Nam and Jong Chul and their factions will respond as well. Defect to the West? Be offered plumb positions? Liquidated? Even now, mass party and military reeducation campaigns are commencing, reports have it, on the legitimacy and importance of General Kim Il Sung's rule being passed down to his grandson, General Kim Jong Un, be allowed to occur unimpeded. A coup d'etat, only if for good reasons, will probably be a good thing long term wise but not when it occurs. Particularly if a reformer gets in and liquidates the inner circle to the Kim Family....I might add, this of course would be a near miracle and would offer very unstable days for awhile.

[magellan]

Oh great. A millennial dynastic communist crown prince.

[Numbers Guy]

Is he rone-ry?

[Dallas59]

Happy Days

[AppyPappy]

He’ll be lucky to last the week after Kim is gone.

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

Maybe his second son wouldn’t be “girlish” if they got him a boys haircut and didn’t dress him in pink. Just a thought.

[AmericanInTokyo]

Yes but that certainly was the craze and the fashion in the early 1970s!

[ConservativeMan55]

bttt

[LayoutGuru2]

Kim Jong-Un

The Un-Jong

[theDentist]

“Spirit of the Season!”

[hoosiermama]

Unstable days we can do. Unstable months, years, decades are a different story. Thanks for your analysis.

[bert]

Think Ariel Sharon. As far as I can tell he had a bad stroke in 2006 but is still with us. If the Chia has such a condition instability could last long time

[stevie_d_64]

So we go from thew “Great Leader” to the “Dear Leader” to “Lil Kim”...

Love it...

[mikrofon]

Kim Jong-il has formally named his third son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor

Shouldn't his name be Kim Jong-trois?

[agrace]

Oh, so all this missile launching has been to makes sure we all know they're not girly men during leadership transition? Although that second son didn't fare too well in that department -

The middle brother, Kim Jong-chul, is apparently too "girlish" to rule.

LOL

[Ezekiel]

Kim Jong-un

Great. Just what the world needs. He probably wears his blue helmet to bed.

[M203M4]

In honor of glorious event for choosing of new Dearest Leader for the great People’s Communist Hermit Hovel, three Small Wang III missiles will be launched into the sea, with a great celebration to commemorate this glorious defeat of the surface tensions. /ror

[556x45]

Would they call him Kim Jong-uh?

[martin_fierro]

The middle brother, Kim Jong-chul, is apparently too "girlish" to rule.

Uh...

[top 2 toe red]

I’m thinking from the looks of that photo ... that maybe “he’s” too “girlish”, ‘cause “he” is a girl!

[ExSoldier]

Just so long as the old man doesn't want to leave this earth with a BANG!

[Niuhuru]

The guy in the back as actually pretty cute.

[Niuhuru]

“What he needs is a good old Stalinist purge of the generals, however if they are powerful enough they may strike back in self defense before he can complete it.”

At this point, he is more likely than not too physically incapacitated to do it. After all this time, he has finally named a successor who might not be able to hold it together.

Chances are they’re (the Generals) circling like vultures and looking forward to taking over after an ‘accident’ happens to his successor.

There’s been way too much poverty in North Korea for it to continue. I believe that in order to maintain control, whoever takes charge will have to work at bringing prosperity to the country, or go about a reunification with South Korea.

A Stalinist purge at this point is unlikely. If his successor wants to stay there, chances are he might just end up rubberstamping whatever the Generals want.

[johnthebaptistmoore]

But he likes basketball and Michael Jordan! Should liking a sport invented in America also be a major “no-no” in the present North Korea?

[calex59]

He’ll be lucky to last the week after Kim is gone.

Which is another reason we need to be worried about what is up in N Korea right now. Kim mentally Ill is dying and he knows it, he wants his son to inherit his throne and knows he might not be able to hold it. So, what does he do? He starts a war he knows he might not be able to win but also knows the Bozo won't stop him or defend S Korea(I know he won't either, others might disagree)so he attacks, along with coordinated Iran and China attacks on Israel and Taiwan. So what if he fails, he doesn't care, he is dying, he will make his mark and go out with a bang. If he succeeds then his son will be secure in the leadership role of N Korea.

JMO and some rambling thoughts.

[johnthebaptistmoore]

I’m just guessing that the “girlish” boy probably is allowed to choose what he wants to wear on his own.

[MrB]

Actually, it would be

Kim Jong-Il
Kim Jong-Ee
Kim Jong-Sam
Kim Jong-Sa

[MrB]

I was thinking that too...

Maybe Dear Leader, for some reason, cannot admit to having a daughter...

[hattend]

Kim’s young-un is taking his place

[BigEdLB]

The youngest kid looks like a regular little geeky brat. Just like daddy...

[benjibrowder]

Err... from reading about the eldest son, I’m thinking there isn’t much love for him by the Korean military and his brothers. His father at this point can’t stand him. Three clandestine visits to Japan and living possibly in Macau, and travelling all over.

[Bobalu]

And these jitterbugs have nuclear weapons...oye vey!

[kalee]

Maybe his second son really is a daughter, but Mrs Kim was to scared to tell Mr Kim.

[GeronL]

he can stgart WW3 and let his son rule for 23 minutes

[Tolik]

“There’s been way too much poverty in North Korea for it to continue. I believe that in order to maintain control, whoever takes charge will have to work at bringing prosperity to the country, or go about a reunification with South Korea.

A Stalinist purge at this point is unlikely.”

---

The problem with countries like that is that when you loosen up control, you lose. Gorbachev never wanted the USSR collapse. All he wanted is to modernize it a bit, give people ability to vent - it was called “a socialism with a human face” (a gigantic Freudian slip - what face did it have before, inhuman - yes, actually, but...). And another thing Gorbachev did that I praise him very much for - he did not spill blood in a manner of 1956 and 1968. He could, had power for sure, but did not. Thank you! Without iron bindings, the system fell apart. But if he would had spilled enough blood - who knows how now bloody revolutions in Poland and elsewhere would have ended. USSR would have been as North Korea, only quite larger.

Back to North Korea itself. We know they have enough resources to make nukes and missiles and for the rulers live comfortable lives. The rulers don’t care much about their people dying from starvation. Communications with outside world are very limited. The people indeed live behind an iron curtain stronger that Soviet one ever was. Brainwashing is strong. I expect no revolts. Unless the power play by generals goes out of hands, they will settle all between themselves and will continue as is. Could any idealist who thinks that his country is a basket case and wants good reforms, could any man like that survive the rat race to the top and be in a position to grab power - I doubt very much. More likely is that any general there is as crazy as all of them.

[ScottinVA]

I take it the one who dared to smile in the pic is the girly-boy.

SNORT

[ScottinVA]

Noooo... that (top, middle) can’t be a boy... can it?

[ScottinVA]

That lady in the top left — she looks strikingly familiar — YES! She’s the one who dry-cleaned my suit the other day. I’m sure of it!!

[Scythian]

Letterman can “dust off” that ol’ ment-ta-lee ill joke he loves so much tonight ...

[martin_fierro]

Naaah, I was being facetious as usual.

Jong-Il has children by several different women (it's good to be king).

The "Second son" is probably the tallest one at right

[NormsRevenge]

Kim Jong-unnngh

v.

Kim Jong-uhhhh

Tough choice..