(For main story, click [nSEO354610]) By Jack Kim SEOUL, April 9 (Reuters) - North Korea's rubber-stamp parliament holds its annual meeting on Thursday and is expected to deliver leader Kim Jong-il, 67, a mandate that will help him cement his legacy and perhaps pave the way for succession. The meeting, coming days after what the North said was a triumphant rocket launch, is expected to put to rest any doubts that were raised about Kim's rule over Asia's only communist dynasty following his suspected stroke in August. If Kim decides to tip his hand about who will be next in line, here are a few possible successors and insights about them offered by analysts and intelligence sources: THE THREE SONS The youngest of the three known sons Kim Jong-un, born in late 1983 or early 1984, has been pegged by analysts as the leading candidate to take over. The Swiss-educated and ambitious Jong-un is seen as the most promising of Kim's offspring but will face difficulties in succession in a society where the tradition of seniority is so strong. Jong-chol is the second oldest son and was believed to have been born in September 1981. Also educated in Switzerland and born of the same mother as Jong-un, he is thought to be suffering a hormonal disorder. Despite the lack of formal grooming for the top job, one North Korea expert said Jong-chol has been accompanying his father on official trips around the country. Jong-nam, 37, the oldest, fell from grace for once trying to enter Japan with a forged passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland. The portly Jong-nam has been in the news in recent months speaking to reporters in nearly flawless English on his way between North Korea and a home in Macau. Intelligence sources said his father has asked him to manage certain overseas tasks. BROTHER-IN-LAW Jang Song-taek, 63, husband of Kim's sister and a senior ruling party official, is expected to play a key role in the leadership that survives Kim Jong-il, possibly as caretaker to a son or as the head of a collective leadership group. In the past few years, he returned to the inner leadership circle and is often seen as the second-most powerful man after the elder Kim in the ruling party structure, though he officially holds only a relatively low rank. HEAD OF STATE Kim Yong-nam, 81, is the head of the parliament's leadership council and is the nominal head of state. While a long-time loyal party member and a former foreign minister, he is not thought to have the legitimacy rooted in the North's revolutionary history, seen as necessary to become leader. If he did succeed Kim, it would likely be as a figurehead. THE GENERALS Jo Myong-rok is the head of the powerful Political Department of the North's army and Kim's number two in the National Defence Commission. But he, too, is believed to be in poor health. Another general, O Kuk-ryol, was named in a 2006 report by the South's intelligence agency as a younger and more likely successor to Kim's military post. The report said he appeared to be a reliable figure who is familiar with South Korea. General Hyon Chol-hae, deputy director of the political division of the Korean People's Army, is frequently at Kim's side when he visits military units for his field guidance tours, leading analysts to believe he is a trusted aide to Kim. (Additional reporting by Jon Herskovitz, Editing by Dean Yates)
Anti-North Korea protesters hold signs at a protest to denounce the North's rocket launch, in Seoul April 8, 2009. A sign (C) which shows a defaced picture of North Korean leader ...
