Kim Jong Il has pancreatic cancer.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hz8xpPpkOs5e5C3sZP-zhbcFt6ow

news said:

North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong Il has pancreatic cancer, it has been reported.
Seoul's news channel network YTN television said Kim, 67, was diagnosed with the cancer around the time he was felled by a stroke last summer.
The report cited unidentified intelligence officials in South Korea and China.
Kim's health is a focus of intense media speculation due to concerns about instability and a power struggle if he were to die without naming a successor.
His third and youngest son, Kim Jong Un, has widely been reported as being groomed as heir, but the regime has made no announcement to the outside world.
The YTN report cited the officials as saying the disease was "threatening" Kim's life.
Pancreatic cancer is usually found in its final stage and, considering Kim's age, he is expected to live no more than five years, the report said.
It came after Kim made a rare public appearance last week, in an annual memorial for his late father and North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung.
Television footage showed him markedly thinner and with less hair. It was only the second state event he had attended in person since the reported stroke.
He also limped slightly and the sides of his tight-lipped mouth looked imbalanced in what were believed to be the effects of a stroke. The images touched off speculation that he could have other health problem

Any ideas on who will succeed him if he passes in next few years?

Maybe Kim Jong Un, his youngest son.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-un

ryouiki said: ↑

Maybe Kim Jong Un, his youngest son.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-un

That would make sense. I didn't know that he was already _supposedly_ appointed the successor.

I don't know much about him so it would be interesting to see how he controls the country (if he does).

the eldest son plays around all day.

he spends 24/7 in macau casinos

sooner or later, with Kim Jong Il gone.
I am wondering who will be the next successor in the cards.
by the way, is that good news or bad news?
it needs to debate the pros and cons of his death.....

From what i have been reading in recent months, the position of "Great Leader" has been largely symbolic. i'm sure back during the Kim Ill Sung era, he had great power over the running of the country, but during the last several years, wasn't the country run largely by the military leadership structure, most of the generals hold very high positions in the government and seem to be in charge of day to day running of the country (i think its their premier /2nd in charge 김영일, actually reuters says its 장성택)

So to be brutally honest i don't really see any major changes for atleast a couple years after Kim Jong il dies and Kim Jong Un is instilled into the leader position.

It could also cause a power struggle within the government and military rank and that could bring about some instability within the country, obviously i'm being very pessimistic here with this one but it could occur depending on how well Kim Jong Un performs in the role as leader, Wasn't there some talk back when Kim il Sung died and Kim Jong il was instilled that the military lacked confidence in him?

Actually i've seen articles pop up today debating what will happen post Kim Jong Il, and most seem to take a very cautious and positive outlook of the future of NK regarding NK with Kim Jong Un as leader. He has spent most of his life in Switzerland so i'm sure he has a better grasp of modern social and economic standards than most of NK.

It would be great if the change in leadership brings about a radical change in foriegn relations, social and economic conditions but i think we are being extremely daft if we think its going to happen in a few years of Kim Jong Un coming into power.

Here is a nice article i found on reuters regarding what might happen after Kim Jong il
http://www.reuters.com/article/worl...13?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

Some of the stuff listed i mentioned in the random talk thread. It also mentions how much it would cost to integrate the North with the South should the North go belly up and its not pretty........ They say it would cost $1 Trillion Dollars. This also happens to be the US Deficit after one of the worst economic downturns in recent decades and you can see how huge this number is -.-"

Do you get most of your news from Korean sources? You always seem quite knowledgeable about matters pertaining to North Korea. :)

I tend to get most of my news from some of the English sites (BBC,reuters,globalsecurity etc), one reason why i tend to stay away from korean sources is they tend to over dramatize North Korean news on occasions, but i am limited by what the news tells me so everything i say could also be completely wrong ^^"