Kim Jong-il's oldest son against North Korea dynastic succession

[bemildred]

Source: Telegraph.UK

Kim Jong-nam, 39, who lives in the gambling hub of Macao and was once said to be too "wayward" for the leadership, said he did not approve of the hereditary principle that saw his 27-year-old half-brother Kim Jong-un being groomed as the North's next leader last month.

"Personally I am opposed to the hereditary transfer to a third generation of the family," Jong-nam told Japan's Asahi TV Network in an interview conducted in Beijing on Saturday.

He was speaking before Kim Jong-un made his first major public appearance as leader-in-waiting, standing next to his ailing father while reviewing a massive military parade in Pyongyang on Sunday.

Although disapproving of the hereditary principle, Jong-nam, the son of an actress who died in 2002, said he would continue to support his brother from afar, hinting that he had no plans to return home after his brother took power.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/northkorea/8058530/Kim-Jong-ils-oldest-son-against-North-Korea-dynastic-succession.html

[Ian David]

1. I predict a coup or civil war in North Korea soon. n/t

[bemildred]

4. Could get messy, yes.

Third generation of the dynasty and all that.

[David__77]

10. If it happens or happened, it would be or was a "soft coup."

There is no stakeholding group in N. Korea that wants a collapse of the ideological and political foundations of the state. That means that Kim il Sung and his son must be principally upheld. China or "pro-Chinese" groups in N. Korea could in effect seize power and implement different policies, but would have to maintain the "Kim-ist" facade, much as China does with Mao Zedong.

[bemildred]

12. A reasonable point of view.

Another way to think about it is that whatever happens, it will have to have China's approval to get very far.

[pampango]

2. Given his attitude, it's probably a good thing that Jong-nam has "no plans to return home after his

brother took power." ;)

[Botany]

3. Jong-nam v Jong-un fight

Jong-nam



Jong-un

[hendo]

5. To the death? NT

[Frank Booth]

6. They are just as gloriously beautiful as the Dear and Great Leaders themselves!

And their communist jumpsuits really accentuate their features.

[awoke_in_2003]

8. well fed guys...

unlike most of NK

[thereismore]

9. While the rest of N Koreans are starving... nt

[awoke_in_2003]

7. "opposed to the hereditary transfer"...

of course he is- he isn't next in line.

[razorman]

11. Well, I'm sure that free and fair elections are just around the corner.

[Lucy Goosey]

13. I would love to think that the populace could rise up and overthrow the dynasty...

...but that seems unlikely. Maybe the younger Kim, with his western education, will open the society up a little, once his dad is dead? (sigh)

[aquart]

14. My guess is the son will live a hot ten minutes after his dad dies.