Change in North Korea but not for the better

Jerry Guo looks at how power is shifting in the hermit state, the Kim dynasty and who really pulls the strings

NORTH Korea’s Kim Jong-il made his mysterious youngest son a four-star general in a major promotion seen yesterday as confirmation that he is slated to become the country’s next leader.

The announcement was published in state media hours before a historic Workers’ Party meeting where Kim, 68 and apparently in deteriorating health, was expected to grant son Kim Jong Un and other family members top posts in plans to take the communist dynasty into a third generation.