Norks Preparing for Power Transition?

Is North Korea setting the stage for a third generation of dynastic rule? And if so, does that effectively move North Korea from being a "communist" state to a "monarchial" one, just without the royal title?

Kim Jong-il, the North Korean leader, is expected to convene a rare congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in coming days to pave the way for his son to succeed him, a feat of political engineering that would be a first in the Communist world: extending dynastic rule to a third generation.

Ahead of the national congress, the first ceremonial conclave of the party’s delegates in decades, Mr. Kim’s propaganda machine is busily reminding North Koreans that their nation owes it existence to Mr. Kim’s father, Kim Il-sung, who was a leader of anti-Japanese guerrillas in Manchuria in the early 20th century.

The meeting, like all political events in the North, will be secret, and even the precise starting date has not been publicly confirmed. North Korea has said that the party’s “highest leading body” will be elected at the meeting; beyond that, the agenda is unknown, and it is unclear how the expected promotion of Mr. Kim’s third son, Kim Jong-un, will be presented. But Mr. Kim’s recent trip to China, North Korea’s main patron and supporter, which followed the announcement of the meeting, has fueled speculation that a momentous transition is under way.

By: Brant