# So who is the ''Dear Leader,'' now?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-is-the-dear-leader-now/149263>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 17, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-is-the-dear-leader-now/149263 "2003-01-17T18:00:43Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-is-the-dear-leader-now/149263/1 "2003-01-17T18:00:43Z")

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Or is there one?

When Kim Il Sung was alive, ‘‘the steel-clad general who would win 100 times in 100 battles,’’ he was the "Great Leader. Kim Jong Il was the “Dear Leader.”

Since Kim the Younger has assumed the “presidency,” is he still the “Dear Leader,” or has he also become the “Great Leader?”

And, more to the point of the question, since Kim the Elder seemed interested in implementing a dynasty, has Kim the Younger similarly appointed (or annointed) one of his childred (assuming he has some) as his successor?

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**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-is-the-dear-leader-now/149263/2 "2003-01-17T19:04:29Z")

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This [_Newsweek_](http://www2.gol.com/users/coynerhm/son_also_surprises.htm) article sounds a tad sensationalist (“The Son Also Rises”), but it would appear thar Kim Jong-il is still “Dear Leader”, where his eldest son Jong Nam is “The Little General”.

> [@](#):
>
> In 1997, Pyongyang watchers began to see signs that Kim Jong Il was grooming his eldest son as his political heir. According to a North Korean intelligence official now exiled in China, Jong Nam was assigned a high post inside the Korean People’s Army’s secret police, a much-feared agency that maintains Army discipline and punishes defectors. The job provided Jong Nam, a man average North Koreans refer to as “The Little General,” with his first real contact with the North’s top brass.

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**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\
**Post date:** [January 17, 2003, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-is-the-dear-leader-now/149263/3 "2003-01-17T19:06:02Z")

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Sorry, I meant “The Son Also _Surprises_”. I really must drink more coffee before posting. 🙂