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North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-il has halted a propaganda campaign to promote his youngest son as his successor after Kim Jong-Un began flexing his muscles prematurely, a leading South Korean researcher has claimed. Kim Jong-Un, 25, was named in reports as the ailing dictator's designated successor last June, but relations between father and son have since become strained, said Nam Sung-Wook, chief of South Korea's Institute for National Security Strategy. "Kim Jong-il knows so well that two suns should not exist in the sky," Professor Nam told a specialist forum on North Korea. In June and July Kim Jong-Un...

NKorea's Kim angry with son 2009-09-23 20:21 Kim 'in control' Tokyo - "Friction" has developed between North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and his youngest son, who has been touted as most likely to take over the isolated communist state, a Japanese news report said on Wednesday. An angry Kim has even ordered state news agencies to temper praise of Kim Jong-Un and talk of any succession, Japan Broadcasting Corp (NHK) said on its internet news site.

Jong Woon Propaganda Comes to a Halt By Moon Sung Hwee, from Jagang in 2006 [2009-08-27 10:31 ] According to sources from inside North Korea, domestic propaganda building up the reputation of Kim Jong Woon as the successor to Kim Jong Il, which had been intense, has been temporarily halted. Since August, potential anomalies in the third-generation succession system have been detected. Kim Gil Myung (pseudonym), who trades between Dandong, China and Shinuiju, North Korea, met with a Daily NK reporter on the 20th. "The succession project (regarding Kim Jong Woon) has completely stopped,” he said, “Since the start of...

Kim Jong-un at age 10 (left); presumed appearance at 26 (right) according to ODNI

SKorean soldier punished for selling fake Kim photo Thu Jul 23, 2:24 am ET SEOUL (AFP) – A young South Korean soldier has been punished for selling a fake photo of the son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il, a report said Thursday. Japan's TV Asahi in June aired what it called an exclusive image of Kim Jong-Un, thought to be the likeliest successor to his father. It retracted its report after the picture turned out to be that of a South Korean construction worker. It said at the time its source for the photo was a "reliable person in...

(Begin my translation synopsis, from original Japanese):North Korean defector KANG CHOL HWANG, who is vice chair of a South Korean humanitarian group which assists North Korean defectors--(who himself is a defector/refugee from North Korea and survivor of the notorious "Yodok" Concentration Camp), reports the following new information to Tokyo based Sankei journalists by telephone:--Gunfire sound is increasing on the North Korean border with China these days. The gunfire can now be heard on almost a daily basis.--The gunfire is coming from North Korean side of the border and indicates two things: a) attempted escapes are increasing and North Korea has...

Young Mystery General Spotted Trailing Kim Jong-il South Korean intelligence services have spotted a young-looking one-star general walking behind North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in images taken during on-the-spot guidance tours this year, but it was unclear whether that was the elusive heir apparent Jong-un. An intelligence officer said, "In the process of closely scrutinizing photos and video images... we twice or three times spotted a young man in his mid- or late 20s in a one-star general's uniform escorting Kim, but it's unclear who he is because their definition is poor and the images are small." He added the...

Public Opinion on Jong Woon Uniformly Negative By Jiro Ishimaru, Representative of the Osaka office of Asia Press [2009-07-02 15:53 ] Jiro Ishimaru, who has been collecting news material along the North Korea-China frontier for more than a decade, visited the border regions again in mid-June. He met with nine North Koreans who were heading back to North Korea after concluding their private business. Ishimaru, the Representative of the Osaka office of "Asia Press,” subsequently wrote up what the North Koreans had told him, specifically about their view of Kim Jong Woon’s succession and the latest complications following the apparent...

N.Koreans 'in the Dark' About Succession An artwork is displayed at the Art Exhibition of Class Education at the Pyongyang International Culture Hall in Pyongyang on Wednesday. The Korean characters (left) read, "When we say we will do it, we will do it" (top), "The United States" (center) and "We do not make idle promises!" (bottom). /Reuters-KCNA North Koreans are apparently unaware that Kim Jong-il has chosen his youngest son Jong-un as his successor, and few North Koreans know who Kim Jong-un is. A North Korean official who recently returned from China told the Chosun Ilbo, "In China I found...

This link is just to the Japanese report, but it is emerging that since March a) Kim Jong Un, the 26-year-old heir apparant/son of Kim Jong il, has essentially been given administrative control of the North Korean Secret Police (국가안전보위부); b) that this also soon puts him in de-facto control of the 10,000 man strong border forces which will be put under control of the DPRK Secret Police next month. Further, Dong-A Ilbo daily newspaper in South Korea (from which the JIJI Japanese report (link) is based) says for all intents and purposes, c) the fates and current handling...

Kim Jong-un 'Acting as Proxy for Kim Jong-il' North Korean heir apparent Kim Jong-un works as acting chairman of the National Defense Commission to support his ailing father Kim Jong-il, the Mainichi Shimbun said Saturday. Quoting sources close to the North Korean regime, the Japanese daily said the leader's youngest son (26) is assisting his father although the position is not an official title. The paper quoted an official close to the North Korean leadership as saying this means Kim junior would immediately assume the commission chairmanship, effectively the most powerful post in the land, if Kim dies, although he...

TOKYO (AFP) — Kim Jong-Il's third son, the likely successor to the North Korean leader, has been appointed acting defence chief under his ailing father, a Japanese newspaper reported on Saturday. Kim Jong-Un started supporting his father as acting chairman of North Korea's National Defence Commission, the evening edition of the Mainichi Shimbun said, quoting unnamed sources close to North Korean leadership.

Japanese Press Hot on the Kim Family's Trail A hitherto quiet residential area in Liebefeld district of Bern, Switzerland was swarming with Japanese reporters on Friday. The Japanese have been camped out here for several days since it became known that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's heir apparent Jong-un went to school here from 1998 until 2000. The Japanese press has also been following Kim's eldest son Jong-nam (38) in Macau and Beijing. Two Japanese TV stations recently succeeded in interviewing him. All three photos of Jong-un that have been confirmed as authentic so far were dug up by Japanese...

Close aides of Kim Jong-un, the 26-year-old third son and heir apparent of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, last week attempted to assassinate the leader's first son Jong-nam, KBS reported Monday citing Chinese government sources. Aides to Kim Jong-un planned to assassinate Jong-nam, who lives in Macau, after first eliminating his close aides in North Korea. The sources said, "It seems they tried to assassinate Kim Jong-nam without telling Kim Jong-il." The plan was foiled when the Chinese government found out about it early last week. "The Chinese government warned North Korea to stop the assassination attempt, and sent intelligence...

Son of North Korea's Kim visits China as heir: media TOKYO (Reuters) – The youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il secretly visited ally China around last week as a special envoy of his father and met with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Japan's Asahi newspaper reported on Tuesday. The report, which cites unidentified sources close to North Korea, comes days after the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution banning all weapons exports from the hermit state, which raised regional tension by conducting a nuclear test in May. Analysts have said the North's belligerence may be aimed largely at a...

N. Korea: Kim Jong-un tried to kill his half-brother Jong-nam recently Exclusive from KBS Evening News at 9 PM in S. Korean time(No link yet.) Chinese found out the plot in time to intercede and foiled the plot according to the news. Chinese dispatched security agents to Macau, where Kim Jong-nam stayed, and bolstered his security. Since then, he was moved to another location and under Chinese protection now.

06-14-2009 16:55 Photo of Kim Jong-il’s Heir Apparent at Age of 16 Unveiled A new photo of Kim Jeong-un, 26, who has emerged as the heir apparent to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, has been unveiled in a Japanese newspaper. On the front page of Monday edition, the Mainichi Shimbun said that the photo shows him in his 16 years, when he attended a public school as seventh grader in Berne, Switzerland. He is one of his classmates in a group photo, which is confirmed to have been taken in June, 1999, the news paper said. He wears a black...

Former Vice President Al Gore is reportedly being dispatched to Pyongyang to appeal for the release of American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who report for Mr. Gore's Current TV media company. Meanwhile, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said in a June 8 letter to the South Korean military that the reason for North Korea's recent behavior is the unfolding succession drama. The two issues are closely related.

(2nd LD) S. Korean man says purported photo of N. Korean successor his own By Sam Kim SEOUL, June 10 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean man said Wednesday the photo of a man a Japanese television station claims to be that of the successor to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is, in fact, his own. The photo, shown by Japan's Asahi TV earlier Wednesday, shows a young man wearing sunglasses and a white T-shirt. The report said the photo, which it says it obtained exclusively, is of Kim's third son, Jong-un, who is apparently preparing to take over the communist...

Dear Leader Kim Jong Il’s successor Kim Jong Un is a Schwarzenegger fan Roger Boyes in Berlin The man who may one day have his finger on the North Korean nuclear button was taught basketball by an Israeli and is a fan of Japanese cartoons and Arnold Schwarzenegger, aka the Terminator, a former schoolmate revealed yesterday. Kim Jong Un, the son of the Dear Leader and grandson of the Great Leader, was a bright outgoing pupil when he entered his teenage years at the International School of Berne, according to the former fellow pupil. Mystery surrounding the health of the...

Purges Expected in N. Korea`s Succession Process JUNE 05, 2009 08:06 North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has purged his political opponents several times while consolidating power. Examples include the purges of “side branches” in 1974 and “Simhwajo” in the late 1990s after the death of his father, Kim Il Sung. Shortly after his designation as the heir in 1974, Kim Jong Il branded his stepmother Kim Song Ae and half brothers as “side branches” and forced them out of the political scene. Moreover, he demoted his uncle Kim Yong Ju, who was then the North’s second-in-command as organizing secretary...

Why three Ps mean end of an era in N Korea By Christian Oliver and Song Jung-a in Seoul and Demetri Sevastopulo in Hong Kong Published: June 3 2009 19:39 | Last updated: June 3 2009 19:39 Kim Jong-il looks set to be the last North Korean leader to enjoy a semi-divine status and rule the nation single-handedly. No matter how well he purges internal opposition, his youngest son will have to rely on a politburo of party and army officials if he takes power, amplifying the risks of infighting in the nuclear-armed state. /snip It is unlikely he can...

Current Actions for Jong Woon's Gain By Yang Jung A [2009-06-03 17:06 ] Member of the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly and Grand National Party member Lee Cheol Woo said on Wednesday, “North Korea’s consecutive hard line actions have all been in order to manufacture achievements for the successor. When North Korea publicizes the choice of successor, they can attribute such achievements to him.” Lee explained on a radio program, “After Kim Jong Il was designated the successor to Kim Il Sung, the authorities propagated the idea that he was behind the success of the Pueblo Incident in 1968...

Tough Succession Road Awaits N. Korea`s Heir Apparent JUNE 03, 2009 07:37 The selection of Kim Jong Un as the heir apparent to his father and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is expected to accelerate preparation for the power transfer in the Stalinist country. Yet the junior Kim will face a difficult road in the process of succession. â—‹ Different start from Kim Jong Il The power succession situation in the North is similar to that of 1974, when Kim Jong Il was unofficially named to succeed his father and the countryÂ’s founder Kim Il Sung. The designation process...

Kim Jong-il's third son, Kim Jong-un, will become North Korea's next leader, according to unconfirmed South Korean media reports. The BBC profiles this elusive young man. South Korean protester shouts slogans while holding a picture of a boy believed to be the third son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, Kim Yong-un, February 19, 2009 The only known image of Kim Jong-un shows him as a young boy Kim Jong-un is youngest son of Kim Jong-il and his late third wife Ko Yong-hui. Born in 1983 or early 1984, the young Kim was initially not thought to be in the...

Kim Jong-il has formally named his third son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor as he prepares to stand down as North Korea's leader. Kim Jong-il, 67, who is known as North Korea's "Dear Leader", suffered a stroke at the end of last year and has been incapacitated ever since. South Korea's National Intelligence Service has now confirmed that the Korean People's Army, the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly and the ministerial cabinet have been asked to pledge their allegiance to Kim Jong-un, 25, the youngest member of the world's only Communist ruling dynasty. "I was notified by the South...

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 third son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has been assigned to the country's all-powerful National Defense Commission, a possible sign that he is being groomed as his father's successor, a news report said Sunday. Kim, who has ruled the nuclear-armed North with absolute authority since his father's death in 1994, has three known sons by two women but has not publicly anointed any of them as his successor. Speculation on who is to succeed the 67-year-old leader has grown since Kim reportedly suffered a stroke in August. On Sunday, Yonhap news agency reported Kim's youngest son, 26-year-old...

N. Korean leader's son appointed to post in top military body: source SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) -- The third son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has been assigned to a post in the communist nation's top military organization headed by Kim, apparently a sign of being groomed as the North's next leader, multiple sources privy to North Korean affairs said Sunday. "Kim Jong-un had been appointed to a low-level post, called 'instructor' at the National Defense Commission days before the first session of the 12th Supreme People's Assembly meeting was held" on April 9, the source said. Another source...

The apprentice dictator speaks the berntütsch. By Julie Zaugg, Titus Plattner North Korea. Kim Jong-il chose her son junior to succeed to him the Stalinist report heading. One is unaware of him almost very. Revelations on the stay in Switzerland of Kim Jong-un. Every Friday, Kim Jong-un threaded her skis and left to descend the tracks of Zweisimmen or Grindelwald with her Bernese classmates. Ten years later, the junior by Kim Jong-il, who was 26 years old on January 8, is had a presentiment of to become the next leader of the North Korea. That which will reign without division...

Rumors Spread of Kim Jong Un as NK`s Heir Apparent MARCH 02, 2009 06:39 Conservative newsletters in South Korea specializing in North Korean affairs yesterday said Kim Jong Un, the youngest son of the NorthÂ’s supreme leader Kim Jong Il, is the heir apparent. Rumors are also swirling that the son threw a party Feb. 16 for high-ranking military officials to mark his fatherÂ’s 67th birthday. With the communist countryÂ’s media also cultivating an atmosphere for a power transfer, all eyes are on whether the March 8 general elections of the NorthÂ’s Supreme PeopleÂ’s Assembly will confirm these reports. â–½...

Kim Jong-Il's son Kim Jong-Un may be taking over from Dad From correspondents in Seoul February 20, 2009 04:49pm THE youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il is running in parliamentary elections seen by some analysts as laying the groundwork for a power transition, a report says. The leader's third son, 25-year-old Jong-Un, has registered as a candidate for the elections on March 8, the South's Yonhap news agency said. The registration means North Korea has started the process of designating the leader's successor, it said, citing sources in Beijing. "Kim Jong-Un will be formally nominated as successor after...

It is one of the most powerful and dangerous jobs in the world and, for decades, foreign politicians, academics and spies have speculated over who will one day succeed to it. It brings absolute power over 24 million people, the command of a fanatical, nuclear-equipped army of a million men, and a brutal state security apparatus. Today the man who is likely to inherit it emerged from the shadows – a little-known 25-year-old with a private education in Switzerland and fondness for sushi, German cars and baseball. Reports from North and South Korea appear to confirm what until now has...

Memo reportedly names Kim Jong Il's third son as successor A source close to the North Korean government has told the Mainichi that an internal memo circulating in the North Korean military headquarters has named Kim Jong Il's third son, 26-year-old Kim Jong Un, as his successor. However, Kim's second son, Kim Jong Chol, 28, is complicating the transfer of power as he is also apparently vying for the position following his appointment to a top post in the Workers' Party of Korea. According to the source, the memo is believed to be used for military ideological training and says...

/begin my excerpts N. Korea: Kim's Brother-in-law Backing Kim's 3rd Son..in Control of Succession Process Jang Sung-taek(Kim Jong-il's brother-in-law) may serve as a regent for quite a while..this could also help protect Kim Jong-nam(Kim's eldest son.) (Seoul= Yonhap News) Choi Sun-young, Chang Yong-hoon = Amid reports that, on Jan. 8, N. Korean leader Kim Jong-il picked his third son Jong-un as his successor instead of his eldest son Jong-nam, it was revealed that Jang Sung-taek, Head of Worker's Party's Administration Department, known as Jong-nam's sponsor, played a decisive role in the process by (personally) recommending him (to Kim Jong-il) Jang,...

/begin my conversation"Phone Conversation of Kim Kyong-hee & Jong-nam Intercepted", Sankei in Japan Reports"North's succession intrigue intense.... even one hour conversation while drunk" Kim Kyong-hee(left,) (Kim Jong-il's sister,) and Kim Jong-nam(right,) (Kim Jong-il's eldest son) An intelligence agency of an E. Asian country has been successful in intercepting frequent phone conversations between Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-il's eldest son, and Kim Kyong-hee, Kim Jong-il's sister since early last year. They were international calls between Pyongyang and Beijing, according to May 1st issue of Sankei Shimbun(of Japan.) The paper reported that Kim Jong-nam blamed incompetent N. Korean security agencies for his arrest...

Who's next in North Korea? By Choe Sang-Hun International Herald Tribune TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2005 SEOUL Kim Jong Il, the "Dear Leader" of North Korea, is pushing an age - 63 - when he is widely expected to designate a successor who will carry the mantle of power he inherited from his own father in the Communist world's first and only dynasty. But he has problems. His eldest son, Kim Jong Nam, 34, has not been home for years, wandering in self-imposed exile overseas and reportedly on the run from hit men hired by supporters of his stepbrothers. His second...