After the December death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il, his son Kim Jong-un took up the reins of rule, and many analysts thought it could signal the start of a reversal in the country’s rogue behavior.
After all, the reports said Kim Jong-un had received a Western education at a Swiss school, that he was an outspoken fan of Michael Jordan, and that he adored James Bond films—and he was taking North Korea’s reins at the tender age of 28 or 29. Optimistic Westerners said what little information was available about Kim Jong-un suggested that he might abandon the internal oppression and external belligerency that had marked the rules of his father and grandfather.
