“Brilliant Comrade” to Succeed “Dear Leader” in North Korea

Since it was reported weeks ago that North Korea’s Kim Jong Il was preparing to hand over power to his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, experts have wondered what title the 26-year-old would take on as part of the cult of personality tradition that has surrounded the country’s familial dictatorship. North Korea’s first autocrat, Kim Il Sung, had many sobriquets, including “The Ever-Victorious Iron-Willed Brilliant Commander,” “The Red Son of the Oppressed People of the World,” “The Peerless Patriot,” and “The Greatest Leader of Our Time.” However, he was (and is still) most commonly referred to as “The Great Leader.” His son, Kim Jong Il, was dubbed “The Glorious Sun of the Twenty-First Century” and “The Leader of Steel,” although he eventually settled on being called simply “The Dear Leader.” Now, the next-in-line, Kim Jong Un, is expected to go by “Brilliant Comrade,” according to U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials.
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