Posted on 11/22/2009 6:31:16 AM PST by TigerLikesRooster
Kim Jong-il’s mistress may have new lover
November 23, 2009
A one-time partner of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il may have married another man and left her job as Kim’s secretary, South Korean intelligence sources said.
Sources told the JoongAng Ilbo that they have received tips that Kim Ok has married an official from the ruling Workers’ Party.
“We’re analyzing intelligence that Kim Ok, who had been Kim Jong-il’s personal secretary, has tied the knot with a Workers’ Party member,” a source said. “We believe Kim Ok has quit her job in the secretariat.”
In North Korea, women working in the ruling party leave their posts after getting married, on the grounds that they may be too distracted at work.
Kim Ok, thought to be 45, majored in piano at Pyongyang University of Music and Dance. She is believed to have been Kim Jong-il’s secretary since the late 1980s and to have been the Dear Leader’s fourth domestic partner following the death of Ko Yong-hui in 2004. Kim Ok has accompanied Kim Jong-il abroad, including during the leader’s visit to China in January 2006.
The South Korean intelligence has kept a closer eye on Kim Ok since Kim Jong-il reportedly suffered a stroke in August of last year. But intelligence sources here said Kim Ok has become less visible since the Supreme People’s Assembly held a session in April.
“With Kim Ok out of the picture, we’re instead focusing on the increased activities for Kim Kyong-hui, Kim Jong-il’s younger sister and a director at the Workers’ Party,” a government source said. “It’s possible that the intelligence on Kim Ok’s marriage is related to Kim Kyong-hui’s emergence into the spotlight.”
Kim Kyong-hui, who had mostly kept a low profile, made her first public appearance in 15 years in June, when she accompanied Kim Jong-il to a cooperative farm. She has since traveled with her older brother on a dozen occasions.
Kim Ok is daughter of Kim Hyo, a high-ranking official at the finance and accounting department of the Workers’ Party. He was elected to the Supreme People’s Assembly earlier this year. Ok’s brother, Kim Kyun, is the vice dean of the Kim Il Sung University and was named the “merited scientist” in April last year.
The name of Kim Ok’s younger sister is not known, but South Korean intelligence sources believe the sister was by the side of Jang Kum-song, a nephew of Kim Jong-il, when Jang passed away in 2006 in France.
By Jeong Yong-soo [jeeho@joongang.co.kr]
Ping!
Was this the short one, wearing the knee high midi, carrying a note pad and trailing him in some of the photos?
Ping!
A nephew AND a niece died in Paris?
The news that Kim Ok (44), Kim Jong Il’s fourth wife, has started an preparatory work to nominate Kim Jong Il’s third son Jong Woon (24) as successor has been generating interest.
Yonhap News cited several North Korean sources, reporting on the 1st, “Kim Ok reportedly has accelerated the preparatory work to nominate the third son Jong Woon as a successor with the assistance of Lee Jeh Gang, the First Vice Director of the Workers’ Party Guidance Department, who is a close acquaintance.”
The sources gave the following analysis, “Kim Ok, who is in her mid-40s, probably has the concern that if the eldest Kim Jong Nam (37) is selected as a successor, she can be pushed out of power due to the relative lack of a difference in their age. She probably intends to be a regent in North Korea through his son Jong Woon.”
The sources also observed, “Kim Ok, as Kim Jong Il’s confidante, has especially received a lot of love and has exercised strong power such as commanding North Korea's high-level figures. If her successor project continues as she intends, it is possible that Kim Jong Il will ultimately accommodate her.”
Related to this, Center for Naval Analyses (CAN) Corporation's analyst Ken Gause had pointed out in March that Kim Ok is deeply involved in running Kim Jong Il’s personal organizations including Department 39 (which handles Kim Jong Il’s slush funds), thus she has both authority and the means to influence the decision of Kim Jong Il’s successor in the case of an accident.
Chun Hyun Jun, a researcher for the Korea Institute for National Unification analyzed on the 1st in a phone conversation with the Daily NK, “As of yet, there does not seem to be any official movement related to the successor issue within North Korea. The most recent report also seems to be one of the diverse scenarios proposed, whether the third-generation transmission of rule or a collective unitary leadership is selected, regarding the successor issue.”
Researcher Chun also observed, “While Kim Ok’s influence is well-known, the feasibility of a third-generation transmission by heredity can realistically be evaluated as low.”
Among experts, the position has been proposed that Kim Ok is pushing Kim Jong Il’s second son Jong Cheol (27) as the successor.
According to the report composed by the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses at the request of the U.S. government, “Kim Ok is maintaining friendly relations with Lee Jeh Gang, the First Vice Director of the Guidance Department and the second son Jong Cheol. The timing of Kim Ok attempting to increase her political influence corresponds to similar efforts by Kim Jong Cheol and Lee Jeh Gang.”
Experts who have participated in the report selected Kim Jong Cheol (8 people or 36.4%) as the likely successor while 31.8% (7) chose Kim Jong Nam and 22.7% (5) picked out Jang Sung Taek. This report did not deem the prospect of Kim Jong Woon becoming the successor as high, saying, “He has not had the opportunity yet to secure his power base.”
Additionally, the story has been circulating that Kim Jong Il’s younger sister Kim Kyung Hee, who is also known as one of the figures in Kim Jong Il’s power circle, supports the eldest Jong Nam.
One newspaper in Japan reported that wiretapping Kim Kyung Hee’s calls revealed that Kim Jong Nam plainly disclosed his grievances of his father. In addition, Kim Jong Nam was reportedly involved in the effort to restrain Kim Jong Il by approaching Kim Kyung Hee’s husband Jang Sung Taek.
However, among the experts on North Korea, the rule of the three Kim generations no longer holds any justification and even among the power elite, the voices of opposition have been high. The observation has been proposed that the introduction of collective unitary leadership based on the military is being prepared by Kim Jong Il.
http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk02300&num=3672
Thanks! Yeah, I checked. It was a niece.
will take a quick read. thnx.
Lee is said to have backed Jong-chol at one point.
Is everyone in NK named Kim?
Some Kim...Some Lee...Some Sung...Some Sum...and the beat goes on
Lol! Yes, that is wrong.
What going happen if Chia Pet want this woman back does that mean that her new husband be send to NK camp LOL!
Man sound like Days of our lives where mistress came back when main character got sick then he dump her after he got well now she getting revenge LOL!
You could call it As the Chia Pet turns LOL!
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