By Kim Young-jin
The promotion of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s youngest son and sister as ranking military officers clearly signals that a hereditary power succession is underway in the secretive state, analysts said Tuesday.
A dispatch earlier in the day by the North’s state-run media reported that Kim’s 27-year-old son, Jong-un, and 64-year-old sister, Kyoung-hui, have been designated four-star generals.
“It is the first official announcement that Kim Jong-un will be the next leader of North Korea,” said Yoo Ho-yeol, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Korea University. “We can expect that he will also be named to the secretariat or politburo during the Workers’ Party gathering.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il was renamed the country’s top boss, the general secretary of the Workers’ Party.
Kim Jong-un remains largely a mystery to the world, which will watch with keen attention as he attempts to take the reins of the impoverished, nuclear-armed state. The process, experts say, has been hastened by the deteriorating health of the elder Kim, who suffered a stroke in 2008.
“Kim Jong-il is worried about his health and knows he doesn’t have a lot of time to set the ground for the power transfer. So he’s in a hurry to put Jong-un in a position of authority,” said Dr. Park Young-ho, senior fellow of the government-affiliated Korea Institute of National Unification (KNU).
Reports surfaced in early 2009 that Kim had begun grooming his third son for what would be the world’s first third-generation power transfer in a Stalinist state. Kim himself became the leader when his father, founder Kim Il-sung, died in 1994.
How Jong-un’s succession will proceed remains unpredictable at the moment as the North Korean Workers’ Party Tuesday renamed Kim Jong-il as the party’s top boss. Kim Jong-il himself served a 20-year apprenticeship before taking power, during which he consolidated his power among party and military ranks. But given the elder Kim’s poor health, this heir apparent may not have that luxury, the analysts said.
In this respect, the promotion of the 64-year-old Kim Kyoung-hui, who oversees the country’s light industries, bears a great significance, as she will be able to help shepherd the young heir apparent to the throne — especially in the case of Kim Jong-il’s sudden death, they said.
Choe Ryong-hae, who has longstanding ties to the ruling Kims, was also named a four-star general along with three others.
“These are signs of a reorganization of the power echelon to center around Jong-un,” Park said. “Those named as generals will be regarded as his close supporters as he takes steps towards taking control.”
Jang Song-thaek, Kyoung-hui’s husband, was named to the powerful National Defense Commission in June. Jang is seen as a mentor to the heir apparent, and widely speculated to play a regent role if Kim suddenly dies or is otherwise incapacitated.
“Jang will certainly play a major role. But Kim Jong-il assumes that he will not be enough (to guide Jong-un into power), which is why he has placed Kim Kyoung-hui as the second-highest supporter for Jong-un,” Yoo said. He added that the move goes a long way in legitimatizing the hereditary power succession as she is also the daughter of Kim Il-sung.