A Japanese newspaper says that North Korea is preparing to form a collective military leadership system following the deteriorated health of its leader Kim Jong-il.

A U.S. intelligence source was quoted as making the remark in the Japanese daily Yomiuri Shimbun on Wednesday.

The source said that should Kim Jong-il die, his eldest son, Kim Jong-nam, would be named a figurehead leader. But that in actuality, Kim Jong-il's family, the North’s Workers Party, and the military as a whole would form a collective leadership system.

The report also suggested that Kim’s brother-in-law, Jang Song-thaek, would most likely become the leader of the system.