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North Korea's Kim moves to anoint youngest son as heir
Tue Jun 2, 2009 2:34am EDT
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By Jon Herskovitz
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has signaled the anointment of his youngest son as heir to the ruling family dynasty as the two Koreas bolstered their militaries along a disputed sea border on Tuesday.
The North was also readying to test-fire a mid-range missile, the South's Yonhap news agency reported a lawmaker as saying after a defense briefing. The South Korean lawmaker, who was not identified, said the launch was being prepared from a base in the southeastern part of the country. He offered no further details.
North Korea has hundreds of mid-range missiles. They have an estimated range of 1,000 to 1,400 km (625 to 875 miles) and can hit all of South Korea and most of Japan.
News of the missile launch preparations rattled financial markets in Seoul. Shares gave up earlier gains and briefly turned negative. By 0518 GMT, the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up 0.36 percent at 1,420.19 points.
North Korea raised regional tensions last week with a nuclear test and by firing a barrage of short-range missiles.
Pyongyang has turned increasing belligerent since its internationally condemned nuclear test, actions analysts believe Kim Jong-il is using to give him greater leverage over power elites at home to nominate his own successor.
It has raised alarm in the region over how far iron ruler Kim, 67 and thought to have suffered a stroke last year, may be prepared to take his latest military grandstanding.
North Korea has asked the country's main bodies and its overseas missions to pledge loyalty to Kim's youngest son Kim Jong-un, various South Korean media outlets quoted informed sources as saying.
"I was notified by the South Korean government of such moves and the loyalty pledges," Park Jie-won, a member of the opposition Democratic Party, said in a statement.
He declined to name his source but Yonhap said Park was among a group of lawmakers briefed on Monday night by the country's spy agency about the succession plans.
Kim Jong-un, born either in 1983 or early 1984, was educated in Switzerland and intelligence sources have said he appears to be the most capable of Kim's three known sons.
Even by North Korea's opaque standards, very little is known about the son, whose youth is a potential problem in a society that adheres closely to the importance of seniority.
"There is a significant link between North Korea's recent military provocations and succession issues," said Lee Dong-bok, an expert on the North's negotiating tactics.
STOCKPILED AMMUNITION
South Korea's Chosun Ilbo quoted a military source as saying the North had stepped up its military training, stockpiled ammunition and imposed a no-sail order off its west coast waters to prepare for a possible fight with the South. Continued...
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