In the space of a few hours, North Korea opened an entirely new chapter in the turbulent history of the Korean Peninsula. It wasn't that the regime had changed, or that policy had changed. Rather, it was that change was inevitable, eventually, and a new leader was on the tortuous journey to the top. The new leader was a young man named Kim Jong-un, the choice of his father, 'Dear Leader' Kim Jong-il, who has survived longer than most people thought likely after a serious illness. It was those intimations of mortality that added urgency to selecting an heir and to seeing that he gets the proper training to take over the government and country in a time of severe food shortages, seasonal flooding, and nonstop confrontation with North Korea's historic foes, South Korea and the United States.