North-Korea’s new leader Kim Jong-un has been prepared for his new job, probably better than most observers know, says historian and research Paul French, author of the North Korea: The Paranoid Peninsula: A Modern History, Second Edition
Channel 4 news:
Unlike his fellow North Koreans, Kim Jong-un has been exposed to the world outside the communist state after attending school in Switzerland, where he is said to have learned English, German and French, as well as developing a fondness for basketball.
He may be his father’s youngest son, but Paul French, author of North Korea: The Paranoid Peninsula, points out that it was not much of a contest: the oldest son tried to visit Disneyland in Tokyo on a false passport, while his brother is known to have been gambling in Macau, China. “Or you can have the quiet one who has been at a Swiss finishing school,” he told Channel 4 News…
Paul French says that being part of the central military command has been a crucial part of his training. “That is where a lot of the decision-making takes place, and similarly to China and Russia, it’s where the Communist party, the state and the army come together. He has been involved in real decision making,” he added.
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