The South Bend Tribune from South Bend, Indiana • 11

Sunday, July 10, 1304 Expected leader of North Korea is largely unknown By ANDREW POLLACK N.Y. Times News Service TOKYO The man who is expected to be the next leader of North Korea has been described as a ruthless terrorist, a spoiled playboy and an erratic manager who will I have trouble keeping control of his country. But perhaps the only thing that can be said with certainty about Kim Jong Il is that very little is known about him. Most foreign visitors to North Korea, including former President Carter on his recent trip, have been turned down when they asked to meet Kim Jong I1, 52, who has been groomed for two decades to take over from his father. They are generally told that he is out in the villages working with peasants or that it would be polite for Kim to upstage his father.

And even North Koreans, while worshiping the younger Kim as the "Dear Leader" and putting pictures of him in their homes, had never heard his voice until two years ago. Some analysts say that the younger Kim has had effective dayto-day control of the government for about two years. He was suspected of being behind North Korea's move last year to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which precipitated the long-running crisis. If that was the case, he might not be amenable to giving the nation's reputed attempts to develop nuclear weapons. But Selig Harrison, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said that he believes Kim is interested in gradually opening North Korea to foreign investment and industry.

"People who are close to Kim Jong Il are generally what you would call the reformist element in North Korea," said Harrison. Analysts say it is still not certain that Kim Jong Il will become the new leader. But the early signs from North Korea indicate this will be the case. If he does assume power, it is a big question how long he can keep it. Kim is usually described as erratic and impulsive in his behavior and far less capable than his father, who ruled North Korea for half a century.

Pudgy and bespectacled, he is also considered less charismatic than his father, respected perhaps, but not revered like Kim I Sung. There are reports that North Korea's military is not happy with having to back Kim. "Kim Jong Il does not have the backing of the North Korean military because he does not have a military said Ra Jong Yil, a professor at Kyung Hee University in Seoul. But some analysts think Kim might be given a chance to run the country, although he might have to share some power with other groups. Kim was born on Feb.

16, 1942, probably in the Soviet Union, where his father was fighting against the Nazis. But perhaps because it is not fitting for a nation's leader to have been born abroad, the official North Korean biography says Kim was born in a secret camp of antiJapanese guerrillas on Mount Paekdu, a sacred mountain in North Korea. Kim Jong Il's stepmother, Kim Song Ae, who attended some of the meetings between Kim Il Sung and former President Carter, is viewed as the younger Kim's rival for power. Kim reportedly attended aviation school in East Germany and graduated from Kim Il Sung University. He then joined the headquarters of the Korean Workers' Party.

The positioning of the younger Kim to succeed his father appeared to begin in the early 1970s. In 1980, the younger Kim was given several top jobs and named "sole He began to be ADULT DEGREE COMPLETION PROGRAM ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT Accelerated Course Format Financial Aid Available Classes One Night A Week Group starting soon For Information or An Appointment Call (219) 257-3350 (local) (800) 422-4251 (long distance) BETHEL COLLEGE EVENING AND WEEKEND COURSES FOR ADULTS WANTED! Casey L. Gregory A. Harper Harges DATE Casey L. Harper is a Crime Stoppers Gregory Harges is a Crime A.

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Presented as a Public Service in the South Be Mel Tribune N. Korea demeanor is uncertain after death of long-time leader KIM JONG IL called the "Dear Leader" while his father retained the title "Great Leader." His writings and philosophies began to be disseminated widely. In 1991, he was named commander of the military, solidifying his hold on power. There is some speculation that Kim became involved in terrorist attacks to try to establish his credentials as an active, heroic leader, since he lacked the esteem his father earned leading the fight against the Japanese and the Americans. Kim has also been painted as a spoiled child and playboy, with a fondness for liquor, cars and wild parties with women from Sweden and Japan.

Some reports say he has recently cut back on his frolics because his health has declined a By BARRY SCHWEID AP Diplomatic Writer NAPLES, Italy After four decades of iron-fisted rule, Kim I1 Sung's dominance of North Korea is over, and with his death comes uncertainty: Who will succeed him? Will the nation break out of its isolation? Will Kim's promised nuclear freeze be kept? Certainly, nuclear nerves will be set jangling again. The U.S. prescription is to keep negotiations with North Korea on track and hope the new regime will be willing to trade the country's nuclear program for economic and diplomatic gains. President Clinton and other leaders here for economic summit talks were taken by surprise by Kim's death Friday. They said the first signals from Pyongyang were hopeful in suggesting the freeze pledged by Kim would be kept.

But Clinton and national security aides acknowledged having little hard information. Kim's son, Kim Jong Il, has been groomed for succession. While the father made most of the big decisions, including the freeze and a promise to permit international inspection of suspect sites, U.S. intelligence has concluded that some decisions were reached by consensus. The fact that Kim Jong Il is in charge of funeral preparations is considered a sign he will be taking over.

But Anthony Lake, the U.S. national security adviser, acknowledged simply, "We don't know." Often, soundings on such questions can be taken by funeral delegations. But North Korea has indicated it did not want foreigners present. So Secretary of State Warren Christopher said the U.S. delegation to the nuclear talks in Geneva would try to get a line on North Korea's intentions, and not only, in "Because the of nuclear the area.

remoteness of the country, because of the suddenness of the death it bears a close watch and being in touch with others," Christopher said. South Korea, of course, is most sensitive to developments in the North. This spring, when the United States threatened to ask the U.N. Security Council to punish North Korea with economic sanctions for impeding international inspection, Pyongyang said that would be tantamount to an act of war. To allay anxieties in the South, the administration dispatched Patriot missiles and enhanced its surveillance of North Korean moves.

A senior U.S. official, commenting only on condition of anonymity, said North Korea in Kim's last days had shown an interest in breaking out of its isolation. The administration expects that trend to continue, the official said. And Clinton seemed reassured that North Korea had indicated it would go ahead with a summit with South Korea scheduled for July 25. He also took the North Koreans' request that the U.S.

delegation remain in Geneva as a sign the nuclear talks would be resumed after a pause for national mourning. The incentive for North Korea is the prospect of some form of U.S. recognition and even Western economic aid if the nuclear program is harnessed. In the meantime, the clock is ticking, and any delay in resuming the Geneva negotiations could reinforce anxieties that North Korea is bent on assembling an arsenal of nuclear weapons. Even before Kim's death, critics of the administration's willingness to hold the talks and defer a threatened drive for new economic sanc-.

tions against North Korea warned that Pyongyang was playing for time. But the administration chose to gamble on negotiations based on Kim's promise that the nuclear program had been frozen and that the prospect of diplomatic ties and economic assistance from the West would keep it inactive. For more than a year, North Korea has zigzagged between conciliation and saber-rattling. The regime under Kim was considered highly paranoid. And that may not change under any successor.

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