According to preliminary reports from South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, Kim Jong-il has named his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, the official successor to the North Korean dictatorship. If the yet-unconfirmed report is true, Jong-un would be the third generation of Kims to rule North Korea, the only Communist country run by a family dynasty.

Since Kim Jong-il reportedly suffered a stroke last year, the South Korean media has been keeping close watch on the North’s line of succession. According to some South Korean scholars, North Korea’s most recent round of nuclear weapons testing may have been an attempt by the North’s leadership to reassert its power in the lead-up to the inter-generational transfer of power. It has been suggested that Jong-un may assume leadership in 2012 on what would have been his grandfather’s, the founder of North Korea’s, 100th birthday.

Jong-Il’s lack of a successor has been perceived as a major strategic weakness, given that Jong-Il was groomed for up to 10 years before actually assuming the dictatorship from his father Kim Il-Sung. According to former CIA operative James Shinn (via The Financial Times), Jong-un’s late appointment may mean that North Korean military insiders could turn on Jong-un should Kim Jong-Il die in the near future.

A member of the most private family in the world, Kim Jong-un’s biography is hazy at best. Jong-un is known to be Jong-Il’s third and youngest son. Although his exact birthdate is unknown, experts in South Korea believe that he is either 25 or 26 years old, which may be why Jong-Il has been reluctant to hand over responsibility. Conflicting reports say he is a graduate of the International School of Berne in Switzerland, where he learned to speak English, German, and French while posing as the son of a North Korean diplomat. According to Kenji Fujimoto, a Japanese chef brought to Pyongyang to serve the Kim family, Jong-un is the dictator’s favorite son. Fujimoto said Jong-Il’s oldest son, who was born out of wedlock, fell out of grace with his father after he was caught entering Japan to go to Tokyo Disneyland, and that his second son was perceived as ‘girlish’ and unworthy of the mantle.

Although no official announcements have been made, Pyongyang has reportedly ordered its diplomats to swear their loyalty to Jong-un as he prepares to take over for his father, a handover that may be years in the future.