Kim Jong-un named next `Dear Leader`

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il named his Swiss-educated youngest son Jong-un as his successor, South Korean legislators and media reports said yesterday.

Pyongyang has told its main bodies and overseas missions to pledge loyalty to Kim`s 25-year-old son, according to the reports, signaling his anointment as heir to the family dynasty that has ruled since the state`s founding.

"I was notified by the government of such moves and the loyalty pledges," said Park Jie-won, a member of the opposition Democratic Party and close aide to former President Kim Dae-jung, in a radio interview.

Park, who is also a member of a parliamentary intelligence committee, declined to name his source, but he was among a group of lawmakers briefed Monday night by the South Korean spy agency about the succession plans.



The confirmation by the National Intelligence Service, given to members of the National Assembly information and intelligence committee, is the first word from the Seoul government regarding North Korea`s next leader following months of media speculation.

Spokespeople for the NIS and the Unification Ministry could not confirm their reported observation regarding Jong-un yesterday, mainly because they cannot publicly speak on anything Pyongyang hasn`t officially stated.

It has been widely predicted since the elder Kim, 67, reportedly suffered a stroke last summer that he would soon designate an heir.

Analysts have said the North`s recent military grandstanding, including a nuclear test last week and continued missile launches, were partially timed to help the ailing "Dear Leader" solidify a power base so that he can name a successor.

"Recent nuclear and missile tests by the North have both domestic and international implications," said Paik Hak-soon, senior researcher at Sejong Institute.

"One of the domestic implications may be that Kim Jong-il wants to simplify the succession process to his son, which is determined not just by Kim but also by the senior members of the North Korean government, the Workers` Party and the military."

Speculation that Pyongyang was preparing a power succession process and that Jong-un was one of the candidates has mounted since last summer.

Jong-un was officially declared as the Dear Leader`s successor to the North Korean military, Workers` Party, the Supreme People`s Assembly and the cabinet soon after the country`s second nuclear test on May 25, South Korean news reports said.

Kim Jong-il reportedly informed the senior leadership of the Workers` Party on Jong-un`s 25th birthday on Jan. 8 that he would be the next in line to the country`s supreme leadership.

Kim Jong-il`s brother-in-law Jang Song-taek has secretly led the succession project since, according to analysts.

In April, Kim Jong-il elevated Jang Song-taek to a powerful military post - a member of the National Defense Commission - indicating that Jang would serve as the second in command or act as the "bridge" between Kim and his son Jong-un.

Jang is the department director of the Workers` Party and member of the 12-person NDC, of which Kim Jong-il is the chairman.

"A department director of the Workers` Party controls the country`s police force, prosecution and the court," said Paik of Sejong Institute.

"Kim Jong-il would have to live long enough to simplify the succession process for his son because it is something also led by the relationship among the North`s Worker`s Party, military and the government."

Analysts said they see the energetic and urbane Jang, 63, as the real power broker after Kim who will groom the successor. Jang, who once fell out of Kim`s favor, has in recent years become his right hand man, they said.

Kim Jong-il was officially groomed for decades to take over from his father and state founder Kim Il-sung. But his three sons are unknown to most North Koreans, which would make succession a daunting task for any of them.

North Korea`s official media for decades let it be known that Kim Jong-il would take over, but it still took him at least two years to fully rise to top leadership after his father died in 1994 and to win the respect of the powerful military and ruling communist party, analysts said.

Kim Jong-un, born in early 1984, went to an international school in Switzerland and Kim Il-sung Military University, and intelligence sources have said he appears to be the most capable of Kim`s three known sons.

Even by North Korea`s opaque standards, very little is known about him, whose youth is a potential problem in a society that adheres closely to the importance of seniority.

By Kim So-hyun



(sophie@heraldm.com)