In mid-June, I visited Jilin in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, where I met with two North Korean men and seven women who had crossed the border and were staying in China on a temporary basis.

They had all crossed the border very recently, and were keen to report the latest North Korean situations in detail.

The nine talked mostly about the domestic North Korean atmosphere on the succession issue.

The interviewees I met with are all poor residents of cities in the northern provinces of South and North Hamkyung and Yangkang.

The most surprising and impressive point was that all of them had heard about Kim Jong Woon’s succession.

Although the North Korean authorities have not officially confirmed, the story has apparently spread to the most rural of places, where the residents have almost no access to current information.

However, they had almost nothing else on Kim Jong Woon. That is to say that the authorities have not publicized exactly who this figure Jong Woon is, but have propagated the succession by simply revealing his name.

In any case, the interviewees had absolutely no interest in whether or not Jong Woon was the successor. Regarding current moves related the succession; they either commented negatively or just shrugged, offering nothing. Here are their answers;

- A mechanic in his 40s from Chongjin, North Hamkyung Province: “I don’t care who the successor is, because my life is too tough to think about it. However, as long as they cannot solve the difficulties in the people’s lives then the people will not welcome the Leader’s son as his successor.”

- A doctor in her 40s from South Hamkyung Province: “Almost 90 percent of the people want change. People worry that their lives of slavery might be passed on to their children.”

- A woman of 23 from Chongjin: “Our poor people live much worse than dogs or pigs. We hope for a better life but the successor will probably govern us in the same way as his father. We don’t want this, but we can’t complain to anyone else.”

In the beginning, just after it leaked out, the interviewees did not know about the succession, but later they heard the story from military acquaintances. It is just a matter of time before rumors spread beyond the military like this.

Once the rumor started circulating, there were some aggressive reactions from among the people. Some said, “The small one (a derogatory way of saying Kim Jong Il) is trying to make a novice in his 20s his successor,” while others say, “The General (Kim Jong Il) is almost dying, and if his son is the next general, we won’t be able to follow orders anymore.”

This is, the people respect Kim Jong Il because of his father’s achievements, but there is no reason to respect Jong Woon.

An interviewee from North Hamkyung Province was sure, “If a war begins, there is no one who would fight for Jong Woon.”

These North Korean people agreed with the idea that the fifteen years since Kim Il Sung’s death have been years of failure. This is because after going through the great famine of the 1990s, still the situation has not been reformed at all.

North Korean people generally believe that Kim Jong Woon’s succession means the period of failure will continue.

Chaos in government operations is inevitable as long as the people are not convinced by the choice of successor.

North Korean public opinion is an important thing, and well worth watching.