Kim’s farcical succession

It appears that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il is poised to hand over the reins of power to his twenty-something son.

According to intelligence reports, the elder Kim has proclaimed the youngest of his three sons, Jong-un, to be the successor to the family dynasty and has been calling for ceremonious declarations of loyalty to the heir-in-waiting.

Some analysts believe the North’s recent saber-rattling - testing a nuclear device and firing off short-range missiles - has been a showpiece for Jong-un’s succession campaign.

If true, North Korea will inevitably become an international laughingstock. Nowhere else in the world in modern history have we witnessed the farce of hereditary power succession.

The possible power transfer only confirms that the North Korean regime has relinquished any hope of becoming a modern civilized state.

North Koreans have no real rights since all the power is locked up within the Kim family dynasty.

We saw this first when Kim Il Sung named his son Jong-il as his successor. And now Jong-il has named his son.

North Koreans have long been accustomed and perfectly happy to call themselves “the people of Kim Il Sung” and beneficiaries of “Kim Il Sung Socialism.” They have been manipulated, exploited and starved for more than half a decade, all in a bid to sustain the Kim legacy.

Extending the North Korean family dynasty has only one impact on North Koreans. They will suffer more hardship and continue to be chained until the Kim family dynasty falls.

The obsession with nuclear arms, missiles and other weapons of mass destruction is part of a malignant campaign to keep the Kim family in control.

Our North Korean policy will have to take a completely new direction if the hereditary succession is confirmed.

We can no longer consider North Korean leadership as a partner in seeking common prosperity and unification of the Korean Peninsula. Our engagement should be restricted to the North Korean people. We must offer them relief and comfort.

An engagement policy should strictly focus on aid and encouraging North Korean people to bring light and change to the reclusive state.

We sincerely hope North Korea isn’t serious about the power succession.