Tackling the big issue

Defense Minister Kim Tae-young, far right, gives a speech at the working luncheon of the J-Global Forum yesterday in Seoul. Noting that a power transition in North Korea appears imminent, South Korea’s top defense policy maker said yesterday that preparations are ongoing to prepare for possible chaos in case the third-generation succession doesn’t proceed smoothly. Kim Jong-un, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s youngest son, may be too young to take over the reclusive communist regime, the defense minister said. By Choi Seung-shik