The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is raising questions around the region and world as to whether North Korean leadership can smoothly transition to Kim's son and chosen successor, Kim Jong Un. One concern is that Kim Jong Un, the youngest of Kim Jong Il's three sons, is thought to be between 27 and 30 years old and has had little formal training or preparation to lead North Korea. Unlike Kim Jong Il, who was the clearly designated successor decades before taking over for his father, North Korean founding President Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Un was only officially designated as his father's successor at a special conference of the Workers' Party of Korea in September 2010. And it was only in January 2009 that the younger Kim was purportedly announced by his father to internal North Korean leadership as the chosen next leader.