Kim Jong Il's Successor?

The Washington Post reported yesterday (Tuesday, September 28) that dictator-president Kim Jong Il promoted his youngest son and his sister to high military rank positions. It has been rumored for quite some time now that the young Kim Jong Eun (27), the youngest of three sons, is considered the likely heir of the cultic dictatorship. That he should promote his sister, Kim Kyong Hui (64), as a four star general as well is quite a surprise. Then again, Kim Kyong Hui’s husband is none other than Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Commision, Jang Song Taek.

I doubt the Worker’s Party will accept a woman as the ailing Kim Jong Il’s successor, but they could possibly accept her as regent while her nephew is groomed into his role. But will the Army accept them? Neither Kim Jong Eun (who spent his childhood in Swiss boarding schools) nor his aunt Kim Kyong Hui served in the military, so there new general statuses are basically “honorary degrees.” Will the other military generals who served for decades in the military value the ranks of these Kims?