ID :
63716
Tue, 06/02/2009 - 09:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/63716
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N.K. notifies institutions of nomination of leader's 3rd son as successor
SEOUL, June 1 (Yonhap) -- North Korean authorities have notified the country's
key institutions that leader Kim Jong-il has designated his third son, Kim
Jong-un, as his successor, a source on North Korean affairs said Monday.
"The authorities made the notification to the Workers' Party of Korea, the Korean
People's Army, the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and the Cabinet
shortly after its latest nuclear test on May 25," the source said on condition of
anonimity.
The notification came more than four months after Kim Jong-il was reported to
have designated Jong-un, 25, as his successor and delivered a directive on the
nomination to the Workers' Party leadership on January 8.
The latest notification is interpreted as the North's move to officially have the
junior Kim recognized as the leader's heir apparent in North Korean society.
Because the internal notification was made right after the nuclear test, it
appears the North intended to highlight Jong-un's leadership through the
notification.
The source also said the North notified its overseas missions, requiring them not
to reveal the notification to the outside.
The decision by the elder Kim, 67, comes earlier than expected and was likely
driven by his poor health after suffering a stroke last August.
If actualized, the junior Kim's succession would be the second father-to-son
power transfer in the communist country, unprecedented in modern history.
Jong-un was born to Kim's third wife, Ko Yong-hi, who died of breast cancer at
the age of 51 in 2004. Jong-un was educated at the International School of Berne
and is known to be a fan of NBA basketball. After his return to Pyongyang in his
late teens, the North has kept him under a shroud of secrecy, and very little is
known about his character.
Kim Jong-il was 32 when he was tapped as successor by his father and the nation's
founder, Kim Il-sung, in a general meeting of the Workers' Party in February
1974. He took over after his father's death in 1994.
Kim Jong-il's former sushi chef, Kenji Fujimoto, said in a 2003 memoir that the
elder Kim considers his second son, Jong-chol, to be "girlish." Kim's eldest son,
Jong-nam, 37, also reportedly fell from his father's favor after being caught
using a fake Dominican passport to get to Tokyo Disneyland in 2001.
(END)
key institutions that leader Kim Jong-il has designated his third son, Kim
Jong-un, as his successor, a source on North Korean affairs said Monday.
"The authorities made the notification to the Workers' Party of Korea, the Korean
People's Army, the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and the Cabinet
shortly after its latest nuclear test on May 25," the source said on condition of
anonimity.
The notification came more than four months after Kim Jong-il was reported to
have designated Jong-un, 25, as his successor and delivered a directive on the
nomination to the Workers' Party leadership on January 8.
The latest notification is interpreted as the North's move to officially have the
junior Kim recognized as the leader's heir apparent in North Korean society.
Because the internal notification was made right after the nuclear test, it
appears the North intended to highlight Jong-un's leadership through the
notification.
The source also said the North notified its overseas missions, requiring them not
to reveal the notification to the outside.
The decision by the elder Kim, 67, comes earlier than expected and was likely
driven by his poor health after suffering a stroke last August.
If actualized, the junior Kim's succession would be the second father-to-son
power transfer in the communist country, unprecedented in modern history.
Jong-un was born to Kim's third wife, Ko Yong-hi, who died of breast cancer at
the age of 51 in 2004. Jong-un was educated at the International School of Berne
and is known to be a fan of NBA basketball. After his return to Pyongyang in his
late teens, the North has kept him under a shroud of secrecy, and very little is
known about his character.
Kim Jong-il was 32 when he was tapped as successor by his father and the nation's
founder, Kim Il-sung, in a general meeting of the Workers' Party in February
1974. He took over after his father's death in 1994.
Kim Jong-il's former sushi chef, Kenji Fujimoto, said in a 2003 memoir that the
elder Kim considers his second son, Jong-chol, to be "girlish." Kim's eldest son,
Jong-nam, 37, also reportedly fell from his father's favor after being caught
using a fake Dominican passport to get to Tokyo Disneyland in 2001.
(END)
