Yonhap
2/25/2007
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il might consider a “collective” leadership system after he leaves office, a move away from the long-anticipated father-to-son power transfer, diplomatic sources said Sunday.
According to the sources, Kim did designate his eldest son Jong-nam as heir apparent in the past, but changed his mind a few years ago to introduce the group-based leadership.
The sources said there is no cause for Kim to pursue a father-to-son transition particularly since he is afraid that the whole Kim family would be blamed if efforts to rebuild the economy fail.
Kim Jong-il himself was appointed successor to his late father Kim Il-sung when he was 32 years old. Outside media attention has been focused on who will be the next leader of the world’s most reclusive country.
“Kim did not make an official announcement on the plan, but it is known that the North Korean leader already embarked on the testing of a military-centered leadership system,” a source was quoted as saying.
The 36-year-old son Jong-nam had long been regarded as the favorite to succeed Kim, but he reportedly fell out of his father’s favor. The Swiss-educated Jong-nam exhibited a wayward lifestyle in order to show that he is not the successor to his father, according to the sources.
As for the succession prospects, Jong-nam recently told his acquaintances in Beijing that “he is not interested” in the issue, expressing concerns that upper-level officials could be held accountable for an economic failure, the sources said.
