King Hussein

AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) -- A day after his triumphant return home following a six-month absence for cancer treatment, Jordan's King Hussein told CNN Wednesday he had "thoughts and ideas" about replacing his younger brother, Crown Prince Hassan, as heir designate, saying his decision would be made in due course.

"I have always had to take the final decisions and although this has been contested at times, it is my responsibility and I will come to it in the appropriate time," Hussein said in an exclusive interview when asked if he planned a change in the succession.

"I am not prepared to say anything ... so please do not commit me to anything whatsoever because ... I have only thoughts and ideas," the king said.

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King Hussein gave CNN an exclusive live interview Wednesday. Watch it here.
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Hussein said he was now trying to "... give Jordanians reassurance that the future is secure and that it is built on love and cooperation and not intimidation."

The king, who has ruled for 47 years, has been contemplating changing the succession, and there has been speculation that he may choose one of his five sons, instead of the crown prince, who has been his designated successor since 1965.

Prince Hamza, 18, his elder son by Queen Noor, has been suggested as the most likely candidate to succeed him among his sons from four marriages.

During the interview, Hussein was relaxed but still showed some signs of his medical treatment. He had undergone six rounds of chemotherapy at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, since mid-July for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a form of cancer that affects the lymph glands and from which officials say he has now completely recovered.

"My concern is not for me," Hussein said, "but for Jordan, its stability, its progress, its democracy (and) its people."

While he emphasized that he wanted to make sure his country would leave a mark in the Middle East and that he did not want Jordanians to be "a broken people as we see in so many parts of the world," he announced no specific measures or policies that might lead the country toward those goals.

Hussein praised the work that Crown Prince Hassan, 51, has done for the kingdom during his absence. But Hussein added: "Hassan is not the sole focus of my attention at this stage."

Reuters contributed to this report.