kim jong il's death

The news that the world's last true communist dictator had died was disclosed by a state television announcer on Monday, who said he had suffered a heart attack and passed away at 8.30am Saturday on a moving train during an inspection and 'field guidance' tour around the country. Kim Jong Il had been the clearly designated successor to his father for decades before taking power, while Kim Jong Un was only officially selected in late 2010. But the way in which Kim Jong Il’s death has been handled thus far, as well as China’s continued support, demonstrate the interest that external forces and North Korea’s elites have in keeping the succession in order. The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is raising questions around the region and world as to whether North Korean leadership can smoothly transition to Kim’s son and chosen successor, Kim Jong Un. One concern is that Kim Jong Un, the youngest of Kim Jong Il’s three sons, is thought to be between 27 and 30 years old and has had little formal training or preparation to lead North Korea. Unlike Kim Jong Il, who was the clearly designated successor decades before taking over for his father, North Korean founding President Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Un was only officially designated as his father’s successor at a special conference of the Workers’ Party of Korea in September 2010. And it was only in January 2009 that the younger Kim was purportedly announced by his father to internal North Korean leadership as the chosen next leader.
The impact of succession on North Korea’s stability is significant because the country is not, as some outsiders portray it, a monolithic entity ruled by a single leader. Rather, the recently deceased North Korean leader, like his father before him, maintained rule over North Korea by balancing several different factions within the elite structure: the old guard revolutionary fighters; sons of martyrs; the military, the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Supreme People’s Assembly; various familial connections; and individuals and groups with various economic interests (overt or otherwise). It is with this management of the various personal and group interests among the North Korean elite that incoming leader Kim Jong Un has had little experience.