Meet the New Boss, Part 3

Via the Dong-A Ilbo, the wire services are reporting that North Korea’s overseas missions have been instructed to swear loyalty to Kim Jong Un, who is also following Kim Jong Il around in his daily rounds. Time reports that he’s the spitting image of his father.

Update: Yonhap, citing South Korean intel reports to legislators, confirms.

Update 2: Here’s a roundup of my previous postings on Kim Jong Un and his brothers:

Feb 07: Oldest son Kim Jong Nam, out of favor since he was caught with a fake Dominican passport on his way to Disneyland Tokyo, surfaces in Macau.

Jun 08: Second son Kim Jong Chol fails a test of his leadership skills.

Jan 09: First reports that Jong Un would be the successor, plus, links to what little we know about him.

Mar 09: Rumors of Jong Un’s succession spread within the North Korean military.

Mar 09: Let the deification begin!

In the end, speculation about Jong Un may be much ado about nothing. Kim Jong Un is in his 20’s, is a third son, is illegitimate, is hardly conditioned to North Korea’ palace intrigues, and has no real military experience. All of these things are great disadvantages in North Korea’s paternalistic, militant, and Confucian culture. It’s unlikely that Jong Un can be more than a mere figurehead.