Nuke tests hint N. Korea succession looms

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By Sara A. Carter and Andrew Salmon THE WASHINGTON TIMES

North Korea's second test of an atomic bomb Monday morning prompted speculation by analysts and U.S. military experts that an ailing Kim Jong-il is relying on hard-line generals to prepare for succession - reportedly to one of three sons.

Hours after the underground explosion, the North launched three ballistic missiles that are capable of carrying nuclear warheads to all of South Korea and much of Japan.

In testing a nuclear weapon, North Korea flouted more than a decade of efforts by the United States, South Korea and other nations in the region to establish a quasi-normal relationship with a nation known for its isolation even as millions die of malnutrition.

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Successive shipments of food, oil and other economic aid, followed by threats of economic sanctions, have created a situation in which belligerent acts such as Monday's tests have often elicited more offers of economic aid.

But Monday's actions may have moved the North's belligerence to a new level, said Michael Breen, a Seoul-based analyst and author of a biography of Kim Jong-il.

"This appears to be more than the usual North Korean antics and suggests all may not be well in Pyongyang," Mr. Breen said.

Jim Walsh, a Korea specialist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said Monday's tests plus last month's test of a multistage rocket are tied to the issue of succession.

Kim Jong-il inherited power when his father, North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, died in 1994. In doing so, he established the first dynasty in the communist world.