Kim Jong-Il picks youngest son as a future successor

by Yuliya Talmazan | January 15, 2009 at 12:47 pm

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The North Korean communist monarchy just got an official heir. Kim Jong-Il, the country's current leader, who is turning 68 in February of this year, has picked his youngest son Jong-un to become his successor as reported by South Korean News Agency, Yonhap. The rumours of Kim Jong-Il's feeble health have been making headlines for quite some time now. The North Korean authorities tried to dispel these rumours with vigour, insisting that the Dear Leader is in good health. But selecting an official successor might be a tactic to try to maintain stability inside North Korea in the event of Kim Jong-Il's sudden death.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, thought to be recovering from serious illness, has picked his third and youngest known son to succeed him, a South Korean news report said on Thursday.

The demise of the 66-year-old Kim without a clear successor could likely add to the uncertainty of a country trying to develop nuclear weapons but with an economy in ruins and a population constantly on the edge of famine.

The Swiss-educated Jong-un is believed to have been born in late 1983 or early 1984 and has been described as his father's favorite and an intelligent and thoughtful man.

But his youth has often been cited as a barrier to his rise to power in a society where the tradition of seniority is strong.

Media reports have portrayed Kim's eldest son Jong-nam, in his late thirties and seen in file footage as overweight and unkempt, as out of favor. They say the second, Jong-chol, is considered by his father as too weak to take over power.