North Korean Succession Sooner Rather Than Later?
It appears that the visit of Kim Jong-un to China, stringently denied by Beijing, actually happened. The Financial Times:
The son and heir apparent to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il joined a delegation of senior military officials for a top-secret, week-long visit to China in mid-June in spite of Beijing's claims that no such trip occurred.
The visit was intended to shore up support for the inexperienced Kim Jong-woon, Mr Kim's 26-year old son, and reassure North Korea's closest ally that a smooth leadership transition was already under way, military, intelligence and diplomatic sources have told the Financial Times.
The Swiss-educated Mr Kim has apparently been given the title "bright leader", following a tradition in which his father is known as the "dear leader" and his grandfather Kim Il-sung, late founder of the totalitarian Stalinist state, is referred to as the "great leader".
The younger Mr Kim accompanied Jo Myong-rok, first vice-chairman of North Korea's National Defence Commission, which is regarded as the country's top governing body, and Jang Song-taek, a member of the Defence commission and Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law.
Mr Jang, who is a powerful political figure in his own right, has been put in charge of establishing Kim Jong-woon's legitimacy, analysts say. The North Korean military delegation arrived by air in Beijing on June 10 and met senior Chinese officials during a clandestine visit that took them to Guangzhou, Shanghai and Dalian.
The elder Kim is pretty clearly unwell; could this visit by his son and handpicked successor indicate that a power transition could occur soonish? We'll see, and of course we'll see if such a change will even make a difference for the hermit kingdom.
