Posted on 04/13/2004 8:55:41 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Power shift is reported in North Korea
The brother-in-law of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il no longer plays a key role in the communist regime's top ranks, a senior government official and North Korea experts in Seoul said yesterday.
Jang Song-thaek, 58, whose most recent post was the first vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, was regarded as the second most powerful figure in North Korea's ruling party. The committee groups North Korea's power elite, and Mr. Jang was a policymaker on economic and personnel affairs at the highest level of government.
Accompanying Mr. Kim to most major events, including the farewell dinner for the June 2000 inter-Korean summit, Mr. Jang has been mentioned as a possible heir to Mr. Kim. Mr. Jang visited Seoul in October 2002 as a member of Pyeongyang's economic survey team.
The Tokyo Shimbun reported yesterday that Mr. Jang was removed from the post after losing a power struggle with Pak Pong-ju, the North's prime minister. After repeatedly objecting to Mr. Pak's initiative to adopt more capitalist experiments in the famine-stricken communist country's economy, Mr. Jang was sent to the party's school to study economics, the report said.
A senior South Korean government official on North Korean affairs confirmed yesterday that Mr. Jang is no longer serving the party's central committee, but did not elaborate on the reason for his departure. South Korean experts speculated the shift may have occurred for health reasons.
That was Kim Jong-nam, the first son. He fell out of favor these days, according to news reports. There are two other younger sons from the current wife, Ko Yong-hee. One of them could become the next heir, because N. Korean regime suddenly raised the official profile of Ko Yong-hee last year, by their state media starting to shower various flattering phrases on her. The ascension of Kim Jong-il followed the same pattern. The profile of Kim Jong-il's long-forgotten mother, Kim Jong-sook, was suddenly boosted by the state media. The wife of Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il's father, was Kim Sung-Ae at the time. Kim Sung-Ae's son(s) were effectively sidelined.
Kim Jong-il may want to groom one of Ko's two sons. However, nothing may not have been firmly decided yet.
You are picky, aren't you?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.