(2011-12-27)
Denny Roy, a North Korea analyst at the East-West Center in Honolulu, said observers outside North Korea will be performing "the usual Kremlinology -- except in this case it's Pyongyangology." They will be watching the ceremonies for clues as to where leading figures stand in the new hierarchy, comparing the event to the 1994 funeral of North Korea's founder, Kim Il Sung.
"What I expect to see is no sign that there's any hiccup or difficulty in Kim Jong Il's plan to have his son Kim Jong Un succeed him," Roy said.
Among those expected to be at the side of the "great successor" are his aunt and uncle. The late ruler's sister, Kim Kyong Hui, and her husband, Jang Sung Taek, are expected to serve as regents for the young Kim as he builds leadership experience, Roy said.
"They will be very prominently featured in all of the public ceremonies," he said. "They'll have places that are very close to Kim Jong Un. If it was otherwise, it would be a dramatic new development, but I don't expect that."
... Roy said Kim now lives in the Chinese casino haven of Macau and is "more or less exiled."
"It's rather significant that in a Confucian society, the oldest son won't play a significant role in the funeral," he said. "That speaks to a very strained relationship between him and the current leadership."
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