The eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has denounced and expressed doubt over his country’s move to carry out a third generation father-to-son power succession.

In an e-mail sent to Japan’s Tokyo Shimbun on Wednesday, Kim Jong-nam said a person who thinks normally would find it hard to accept the idea of the third generation power transfer. He said he doubts whether a young successor with only two years of training to take the helm will be able to maintain a system of absolute power.

This was the first time Kim Jong-il’s first son has expressed his views about the North’s government since the death of his father.