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6.02.2009

kim jong-un, north korea's next leader?

According to South Korea's intelligence agency, ailing North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il has apparently chosen his third son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor. No information has actually been made public yet, nor is there any real evidence, but international speculation is running wild, and key South Korean officials now believe that Kim Jong-un stands the best chance of being North Korea's next leader: Speculation Rises on N. Korea's Leader.

Kim Jong-il has three known sons. The eldest, Kim Jong-nam, 38, once considered an undisputed candidate among most outside analysts, reportedly lost his father’s support when he was caught sneaking into Japan on a false Dominican Republic passport in 2001. He told Japanese officials he wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland. I don't know, that is both kind of scary and awesome.

Outside of that, nobody knows very much about Kim Jong-il's sons. Analysts in Seoul are even sure about the exact age of Kim Jong-un. He's either 25 or 26, and perhaps once studied at the International School of Berne in Switzerland in the 1990s under the pseudonym of Park Chol, learning to speak English, German and French. Or maybe that was one of Jong-il's other sons. More here: Kim Jong-il chooses third son as his successor.