North Korea's new leader
Posted by Skyler Frink
Kim Jong-il passed away this Saturday due to a heart attack, according to the North Korean government. The deceased's youngest son, Kim Jong-eun, is taking his father's place as the head of the country.
North Korea has been making headlines fairly regularly due to its nuclear program and the many media-worthy events that have come forth from the country. With this new change in regime can we expect things to be different?
Not much is known about Kim Jong-eun, and whether or not he will continue North Korea's less than stellar history of cooperation on the international stage is unknown. While North Korea's population has been kept in the dark by the government, can Kim Jong-eun maintain that sort of control over the country? The world is full of ways to gain access to information, and an untested leader who may not have the ties that his father had could be incapable of stepping up to the challenge of running a country, especially one as volatile as North Korea.
Kim Jong-eun has had little exposure to the outside world, and was largely protected by Kim Jong-il. He does not have much diplomatic experience, though he was seen with his father during a September visit with the president of Laos. With his lack of experience and young age, maybe he'll bring about some change for the better in North Korea.
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
