Kim Jong-il 'taps 3rd son as successor'

SEOUL: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) top leader Kim Jong-il has named his 26-year-old son - said to be competitive and proficient in English - as the next leader of the country, news reports said yesterday.

Two major Republic of Korea's (ROK) newspapers said yesterday that the DPRK's military, party and government officials were informed that Kim Jong-un, the youngest of three, is in line to take power.

The announcement was made in the days after Pyongyang's May 25 nuclear test, the Hankook Ilbo newspaper reported, citing unnamed ROK lawmakers briefed by the spy agency.