DPRK Forum

It seems Kim Jong Nam has not been assigned to any positions in North Korea according to the latest news wires. The latest speculation suggests Kim Jong Il has named Kim Jong Chol in a key position in the KWP:

TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has named his second eldest son to a major post, making him the top candidate to eventually take over as head of the reclusive state, a Japanese newspaper reported on Saturday.

Kim appointed Kim Jong-chol as deputy chief of a leadership division in the ruling Workers’ Party, the Mainichi Shimbun said, quoting sources close to the North Korean government.

This article did not say what position Chol has taken, but I linked to another source that states it is the Guidance Department. Kim Jong Il held this department before getting named successor (link and emphasis is mine):

Kim Jong-Chul, 27, had recently become vice chief of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party’s organisation and guidance department, the Mainichi Shimbun said, quoting several unnamed sources close to the North Korean administration.

The position, regarded as one of the party’s most important posts, was assumed by Kim Jong-Il in 1969 before he succeeded his late father Kim Il-Sung, it said.

However, in earlier reports, it was suggested Kim Jong Nam returned to Pyongyang to work at the department. It could still be true because no official word of any of Kim’s sons has comer down the pike to be named in any key position. It could be sources “close to the North Korean government”, but it is still guesswork and unclear no matter what. The succession and any succession issues are a very closely guarded secret.

Kim Jong-Chul had an office in the same building as his father, from whom he often received direct guidance, the report said.

Hm, interesting.

The organisation and guidance department is a seen as one of the ruling party’s most powerful, as it has the authority to shuffle personnel and censor other departments.

The son was now seen as front-runner to take over the world’s only communist family dynasty, as his two brothers had no positions in the ruling party which controls the reclusive state, it said.

There had been rumours from the imporverished and isolated nation that Kim Jong-Il’s oldest son Kim Jong-Nam, 36, had belonged to the guidance department, but they had been denied, the Mainichi said.

I wonder who the source of this information is? Of course, nobody knows, but all the same, it is pretty interesting since North Korea is an intelligence black hole. If the report is true, it should be pretty significant, but again, so were the reports of Kim Jong Nam which now seems to be not the case. All the same, this is speculation.

Kim’s youngest son, Kim Jong-Woon, 24, now served in the nation’s military and was largely seen to have dropped out of the succession race, it said.

I have not heard much about Woon either, but again, it does not mean a whole lot at this point. Naturally:

There is no official confirmation of the Japanese newspaper report, either in North or South Korea.

Will the dynasty survive? I doubt it, but I have been wrong before, and as with anything North Korea, one can only watch and see what happens.

Update: See DPRK Studies.