Kim Jong Il picks third son to succeed him

Until recently, Kim Jong Il’s No 3 son was an Unknown Unknown.

The first hint of his existence came in a 2003 memoir by the family’s Japanese chef. Until then, North Korea’s Dear Leader was known only to have two sons by different mothers — both of the latter now deceased and neither of whom he formally married.

Kim Jong Nam, the eldest son, blotted his copybook in 2001 when he was caught at Narita airport with a forged passport, allegedly en route to Disneyland. That cracks me up!

Kim Jong Chul, the second son, is an Eric Clapton fan and is said to have been dismissed by his father as too effeminate — a condition variously ascribed to a hormonal disease, sexual orientation or just a putdown by his macho father. Either way, Kim Jong Chul does not cut the kimchi. I’m surprised he’s even alive with that madman as a father.

Kim Jong Un is young and untried. Picking him is contentious and may yet be contested.

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