Tom and Mary are playing mahjong.

Jang Song thaek had been seen as a kind of regent to Kim Jong un, the young successor to the Kim family dynasty, and was thought to be number two in the regime. But he owed his position to his wife, Kim Kyong hui, the only sister of Kim Jong il, Kim Jong un s deceased father.

Or, it may be that all of the provocations that have followed Kim Jong il s illness may be the work of Kim Jong un himself.

It is widely expected that Kim Jong il s third son, Kim Jong eun, will be appointed to a key position and be publicly announced as his father s successor.

Since then, South Korean intelligence institutions have been assessing Kim Jong il s ability to organize an orderly dynastic succession.

First, Kim Jong il and his third son, Kim Jong un, may have become much more confident as a result of North Korea s emergence as a de facto nuclear state.

Indeed, Kim Jong eun, the third son of Kim Jong il and his late consort Ko Young hee, was mooted as his father s successor almost a year ago.

When she died, her doctor and Kim Jong il were the only people present.

Moreover, Kim Jong il, like his father, has consistently appointed members of his family to positions of power. Indeed, Kim Jong eun, the third son of Kim Jong il and his late consort Ko Young hee, was mooted as his father s successor almost a year ago.

The challenges facing Kim are piling up.

All such transactions have been conducted under the direct orders of Kim Jong Il.

A majority of Chinese dislike Kim Jong il s dynastic Leninist regime.

The idea was that isolation and sanctions would topple Kim Jong il s dictatorship.

North Korea s new boldness may reflect Kim Jong il s wish to polish the 26 year old Kim Jong un s image as a strong and decisive leader.

Some believe that North Korea has begun displaying its growing nuclear threat in order to secure the succession to power of Kim Jong un, Kim Jong il s rotund, twenty something youngest son.

The Dear Leader s son, Kim Jong chol, is said to be a fan of Eric Clapton.

In fact, Kim Il sung and his son, Kim Jong il, were typical Korean rulers.

Here Kim has shown just how fundamentally flawed his understanding of the workings of Western democracy is.

Kim Jong Il will seek to maintain the relationship with Iran no matter what.

But Kim Kyong hui may have other plans, such as becoming Kim Jong il s successor herself.

A final group reports directly to the Secretarial Office of North Korea s Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il.

But it is neither useful nor very plausible to assume that Kim Jong un and his military advisers are mad.

Kim Jong un s New Year message emphasized, among other issues, the importance of inter Korean relations.

TOKYO North Korea s communist regime is, by most accounts, set to complete its second dynastic transfer of power, this time from Kim Jong il, who has ruled since 1994, to his youngest son, Kim Jong eun.

And, even if new sanctions are imposed, the door to the Six Party Talks must be left open for Kim Jong il.

But it is unclear how much influence China s government holds over Kim Jong un s regime.

Ibrahim_Elgarhi North Korea approves Nuclear attack on US and thus makes Kim Jong un the second most stupid president in the world

Kim Jong il, who is known to have had a powerful attachment to his birth mother, cannot help but have been psychologically affected by witnessing his mother s killing.

So when Kim Jong il passes from the scene, and political instability meets economic blight, the regime could fall apart.

In East Asia, North Korea withdrew from the NPT after using it to disguise its weapons program, and China, America, Japan, Russia, and South Korea are trying to persuade Kim Jong Il s regime to reverse course.

This autumn, he promoted his hitherto little seen son, Kim Jong un, to the rank of general, and introduced him at a Communist Party conference.

Image of Gaddafi and Kim Jong il, two of the world's most notorious dictators, Posted in Mr. Joo's blog, used with permission.

Kim Jong Il, the North Korean dictator who ruled the hermit kingdom for the past three decades, has died at the age of 69.

There is, indeed, a growing belief that Kim Jong il might, at any moment, designate Kim Kyong hui to serve as a caretaker for the third generation successor after his death. But Kim Kyong hui may have other plans, such as becoming Kim Jong il s successor herself.

Since then, South Korean intelligence institutions have been assessing Kim Jong il s ability to organize an orderly dynastic succession. In particular, they have been monitoring the body count of senior North Korean officials who have suddenly retired, disappeared, or died in automobile accidents.

Kim Jong il is a naughty boy who wants attention and incentives to behave decently.

Indeed, as the eminent historian Wang Gungwu has pointed out, the first maps to claim the South China Sea were Japanese, and were inherited by Nationalist China.

Indeed, Kim Jong il is quoted as saying When my sister turns violent, no one can stop her.

When Kim Jong il started living with his second wife, Kim Kyong hui sought to incite trouble, driven by a sense of rivalry.

Kim Jong il has described his sister as my only blood family whom I was asked to take care of by my mother till the moment she died.

Shielded behind a protective China, Kim Jong il launched his rocket anyway, and the US refrained from action.

Over the past 20 years, laid off workers, dispossessed farmers, Falun Gong practitioners, and angry Tibetans have organized protests.

Moreover, Kim Jong il, like his father, has consistently appointed members of his family to positions of power.

According to Chan, Kim Jong suk was at Kim Il sung s Pyongyang home near the Soviet Embassy, quarreling with him.

But Chan Giryok, who was Kim Jong suk s primary doctor and is now a doctor at Nagoya University in Japan, tells a different story.