In-DepthAsia-Pacific

North Korea: Like Father, Like Son?

North Korea: Like Father, Like Son?

Who's in charge in North Korea? Contrary to what some news coverage has suggested in recent months, the answer is obvious: Kim Jong Il.

Ever since the North Korean leader suffered a stroke in the summer of 2008, media reports have been rife with speculation that he would soon give way to a successor, or else that a struggle for power was raging in Pyongyang. Much of that speculation was idle, little of it informed, and some of it motivated.

North Korea may be opaque, but this much is clear to close observers of its hermetic ruling circles: In January 2009, Kim Jong Il designated the youngest of his three sons, Kim Jong Un, as his heir apparent, to succeed him upon his death.

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