'Dear' Leader Steps Up to the 'Great'

Most countries let off a few fireworks to inaugurate a new president; North Korea prefers missiles -- or "artificial satellites" according to their official version. Kim Jong Il (the "Dear Leader" who is already de facto head of state) is set to take over the presidency of his late father, Kim Il Sung (the "Great Leader") on Saturday -- and Western intelligence has very little idea of his intentions. "The original assumption was that he was a lightweight playboy who wouldn't last long in power," says TIME correspondent Douglas Waller. "But he's proved himself to be a very skillful operator in consolidating his position." Although it's been suggested that he may pursue economic reform in the obscurantist state, Kim's plans are anybody's guess: Despite negotiating international agreements with his government, no U.S. or Western leader has ever actually met the "Dear Leader."