Kim Jong-un, son and heir apparent to his father’s North Korean throne, may have to share rule of the isolated country with the North Korean military and his uncle, a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing has said today.

Reuters is reporting that a source with close ties to Pyongyang and Beijing stated that Jang Song-thaek, 65, brother-in-law of Kim Jong-il, and the great successor’s uncle, would share power with the North Korean military as the country moves forward.

Reuters didn’t identify the source, but said the same source had correctly predicted events in the past, even telling Reuters about the North’s first nuclear test in 2006, before it took place.

The source also hinted that the test missile fired by North Korea on Monday was a message it wanted to send, particularly to the US and South Korea:

With the missile test, [North] Korea wanted to deliver the message that they have the ability to protect themselves, but [North] Korea is unlikely to conduct a nuclear test in the near future unless provoked.

The source also commented on the subject of denuclearising, and said that North Korea may be “willing to do so on condition that North and South Korea, the United States and China sign an armistice replacing a 1953 ceasefire agreement,” Reuters reported.

According to the source, Pyongyang is also convinced the US is storing nuclear weapons in South Korea, and demands that Washington pull them out. This as US President, Barack Obama, planned to deploy 2 500 marines in Australia to shore up alliances in Asia mid-November.

In other news, the great successor has followed in his father’s footsteps and started looking at things too.

[Source: Reuters]