N. Koreas acts feed global fears: ; Is leadership succession in the offing?; ANALYSIS

Summary

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SEOUL, South Korea - The widening scope of North Korea's defiance - a rocket launch, a nuclear blast and signs of more long-range and atomic tests to come - suggests there's more to it than the usual brinkmanship.

Ruler Kim Jong Il, looking frail and gaunt 10 months after a reported stroke, appears anxious to secure the stability of the communist regime before he anoints a politically inexperienced son as successor.

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N. Koreas acts feed global fears: ; Is leadership succession in the offing?; ANALYSIS

If North Korea can win credibility as a nuclear-armed power and extract promises of recognition and aid from Washington and its allies, Kim will have set the stage for his son to take the world's ...

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