Kim Jong-il names successor. Should we just wait for his ascension?

I wrote last week about the current brainwashing education initiative put in place by the government of Kim Jong-il to acquaint the citizenry with their future leader, Kim Jong-un.

Initiatives such as having school children learn songs depicting Jong-un as the divine son sent down to the sacred Mt. Baekdu from the heavens above and other such mythical nonsense that would make even a Christian from Kansas wince.

Well, all indoctrination rhetoric aside, now it's official. Kim Jong-il announced today that his 3rd son, Kim Jong-un, will be taking over as "Great Leader" after his father heads on to the great Kim Chi Castle in the sky.

"It has been confirmed through various channels that North Korea sent emails to legations overseas, asking them to pledge their loyalty to (youngest son) Kim Jong-un," the South Korean daily Dong-A Ilbo reported an "informed source" as saying.

I am optimistic with the prospects of the new leader. Jong-un is young --26 years old (though the government is telling the people he is 37), he was educated at the International School of Bern and he is a fan of the NBA. As long as he doesn't like the Lakers, I think we just might have a leader we can work with.

Some might argue that age is irrelevant --Kim Jong-il was 32 when he was tapped to replace his father in 1974. But Kim Il-sung and the enormous growth on his neck lived a long life --Jong-il didn't actually assume power until 1994.

So, if we're banking on Jong-un's youth to grant him some worldly wisdom, we must then hope that Kim Jong-il kicks the bucket in the near future. I know, hoping that someone will die is a bit macabre. But think of it less as a "hope" and more of a "wish."

The one worry: Kim Jong-un has been living in North Korea since returning from Switzerland in his late teens. Thus, little is known about his character. Since he has been shrouded from the public eye, we can only speculate as to how far the cabbage has rolled from the stalk.

Ten years under his father's tutelage and he may very well have forgotten lessons he learned in Swiss classrooms. Such as how cool it was to debate issues with friends and even enemies. Only time will tell.

For now lets cross our fingers and hope (or wish) that since returning to the NK, Jong-un has been surfing the net watching Jon Stewart and listening to Bob Dylan.