Succession Speculation: Kim Jong-un’s New Job
by Richardson ~ November 26th, 2007. Filed under: Kim Jong-il, Korean Politics, North Korea.In late August 2007 reports indicated that Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-il’s eldest son, had returned to Pyonyang from semi-exile due to his Disneyland related exploits in Japan, which of course causes succession speculation:
The eldest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-nam (36) has returned to Pyongyang and is working at the Organization and Guidance Department of North Korea’s Worker’s Party…
Soon thereafter conflicting reports stated that Jong-nam only visited North Korea but continued to live in China.
Now there reports claiming that Kim Jong-chol, the effeminate middle son, has been appointed to the same organization Jong-nam was rumored to be working at in August:
A Japanese newspaper reported yesterday that Dear leader Kim Chong-il appointed his middle son Kim Chong-chol to be a vice chief in Organization and Guidance Bureau of the Korean Workers’ Party organization…
Who will it be? Kim Jong-nam, Jong-chol, or Jong-un? It’s worth noting that since the younger two were in their teens analysts said Jong-un was too young to take leadership – an assessment that aged out of applicability several years ago, since Jong-un is now past the age that Jong-chol had been considered a viable possibility for succession.
The bottom line is that no one outside the North Korean elite knows who will replace Kim Jong-il when the time comes – and they may not know either.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:02 pm
[...] Update: See DPRK Studies. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “The Path To Succession: Kim Jong Chol?”, url: “http://dprkforum.com/2007/11/25/the-path-to-succession-kim-jong-chol/” }); Sphere: Related Content [...]
January 15th, 2009 at 8:43 am
[...] DPRK Studies, on his recent career [...]
January 15th, 2009 at 4:41 pm
“…the youngest of Kim’s three sons, Jong-un was educated at the International School of Berne and is a fan of NBA basketball. ”
—-not to scary! Maybe he is on facebook or friendsreuinited.com.
There must be lots of people who went to the Intl school of Bern in the late90s-early 2000s and remembers this guy!!
He must have left some traces!
Where did he go to uni?
January 15th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
This would have been the best candidate for the country:
————————
KIM SOL SONG: Kim Jong Il’s daughter (born 1974). Her mother, Kim Yong Suk, was a typist.
Why she might be the next Dear Leader: Sol Song is the only one of the dictator’s children whose mother is still alive and able to push for her succession. Trained in economics, she often accompanies Kim Jong Il on government trips, and he reportedly relies on her for advice.
Why she might not be: She’s a woman in a society with a strong patriarchal tradition. Also, there has been no propaganda in the state media about her or her mother, who was reportedly replaced in Kim Jong Il’s affections by Ko Yong Hui in the mid-1970s.
Verdict: Long shot. Confucian tradition favors passing on leadership to males only, and Kim Il Sung’s wish was that the revolution continue through his grandson.