For the second time in two decades, North Korea’s hereditary communist state confronts dynastic change — and the civilized world, wary of the chronically belligerent realm’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, draws a guarded breath. Kim Jong Il, the squirrelly tinpot with a yen for kidnapping movie starlets, died last week. North Korea’s propagandists tell us the deceased thug passed on the family tyranny (complete with various extortion and smuggling rackets) to his third son and designated heir, Kim Jong Un. (May we call him KJUN for short?)
The propagandists have dubbed the 27-year old KJUN, who was educated in an elite Swiss school and purportedly loves basketball, “The Great Successor.” KJUN’s preceding Kim dynasts flashed grandiose monikers.
