I still remember when his father Kim Il Sung died during the Clinton years, and there was speculation that kim Jong Il wlould be less ruthless than his father.
But he turned out to be a guy who perpetuated the Stalinist structure of his father. It would be a wonderful thing if his new heir abandoned nukes in exchange for economic assistance and a new open-ness with the West. But don't hold your breath.
One of the amazing things of Kim Jong Il was that he banned his citizens from using the internet and other western luxuries, but was reported to enjoy the western things he banned, and spent virtually all his free time on the internet.
He could have been one of the alts here on RKMB!
