June 03, 2009 08:48
North Korean authorities sent a telegram to several North Korean missions overseas to notify them that Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-il's third son, was chosen after the North's nuclear test on May 25 to succeed as the leader, members of the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee quoted National Intelligence Service officers as saying Monday.
According to one committee member, the NIS said media reports on Kim Jong-un's succession were well-founded. The NIS cited a diplomatic telegram to North Korean missions overseas as proof.
A senior government official said, "We've obtained intelligence from some countries that maintain diplomatic relations with both Koreas, but not a copy of the telegram itself."
Prof. Kim Yong-hyun of Dongguk University said, "Informal circumstances show that Kim Jong-un has been chosen as the successor. But there is still a lot of speculation."
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