Leadership Change in North Korea.

According to the Associated Press yesterday, the former North Korean dictator, Kim Jung Il died at the age of 69. The report states that Il died as a result of health complications he had been battling for a long time. In 2010, Kim Jung Il chose his future successor. He appointed his third son Kim Jung Un to assume power like his father had done with him. Jung Il was in power for nearly 17 years. Kim Jung Un like his father is known for his bad temper along with his allegiance to North Korea’s most trusted ally communist China. The tension in the region is already at an all time high especially after North Korea attacked a South Korean island in the past few months. How much China is able to manipulate Un to escalate an already fractured relationship with the United States still remains to be seen. The possibility of a military conflict with the South though just went up a notch. You can read more about Kim Jung Il’s sudden death here http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_KOREA_KIM_JONG_IL?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-12-18-22-08-46