Free Republic

The rise of Kim Il-sung's mini-me By Andrei Lankov SEOUL - In October last year, media worldwide reported that Kim Jong-eun, Kim Jong-il's third son, had been made a four-star general and promoted to the position of vice chairman of the Korean Workers' Party's Central Military Commission. It was taken as evidence that at long last, the Dear Leader had decided on his successor. At the time, it was often overlooked that Kim Jong-eun had not yet been officially described as "successor". Officially, he is merely a top dignitary, even though few would cast doubt on the actual meaning of...

N. Korea's defense minister sidelined in hereditary succession process: official SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's defense chief Kim Yong-chun has been sidelined in the country's ongoing hereditary succession process due to apparent tensions between his loyalists and supporters of the heir-apparent, Kim Jong-un, a senior South Korean ruling party official said Thursday. Kim, the minister of the North's People's Armed Forces, is known to have the trust of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and serves as a vice chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission, headed by the leader himself. "Our intelligence officials have determined that Minister Kim...

Kim Jong-il's Brother 'Under House Arrest in Pyongyang' North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's half-brother Pyong-il, the North's perpetual ambassador to Poland, is rumored to have been under house arrest since he arrived in Pyongyang in May. A source familiar with the North's internal affairs on Thursday said Kim Pyong-il is under house arrest because Kim Jong-il's son and heir Jong-un and his followers are maneuvering to hold him in check. "Anyone who is believed to pose an obstacle to Kim Jong-un's succession, even members of his own family, is subject to elimination," the source added. Experts say Kim Jong-un is...

Plastic surgery to look like grandpa June 29, 2011 LONDON - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s heir apparent son, Kim Jong-un, has undergone plastic surgery six times to look more like his late grandfather and the nation’s founder, the chief of a radio station specializing in North Korean affairs claimed yesterday. Ha Tae-kyung, head of Open Radio for North Korea, cited unidentified senior North Korean officials and claimed that the North’s leader-in-waiting had the operations between 2007 and 2010 before he officially debuted as successor last September. Ha made the remarks in a speech on North Korea’s power succession during...

North Korea vows military retaliation after South troops used Kim photos as firing targets North Korea vows military action against South By FOSTER KLUG | Associated Press | 46 minutes ago in World North Korea vowed Friday to launch "retaliatory military actions" against South Korea, a threat that came days after Seoul said its military had used photos of Pyongyang's ruling family for target practice. The North's fiery statement is part of a barrage of harsh rhetoric this week aimed at the conservative government of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who took office in 2008 with a harder line than...

Advance team’s trip signals a traveler within a week, possibly Kim Jong-un May 06, 2011 Kim Jong-un BEIJING - Around 20 North Korean special agents arrived in Beijing Wednesday, sparking speculation of an imminent visit by a top figure from Pyongyang, Chinese sources told the JoongAng Ilbo yesterday. The activity comes amid rumors that North Korea’s heir apparent Kim Jong-un would visit China sometime this month. “I heard that 20 or so North Korean secret agents arrived in Beijing,” a source said, adding they traveled in vehicles with black tinted windows that were escorted by Chinese security. “They appear to...

March 10, 2011 Finding a Soul Mate for North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un By MARK McDONALD SEOUL — At first she did not know what to make of being romantically matched with Kim Jong-un, that roly-poly bachelor, the presumptive future lord and master of North Korea. Should she be offended, amused, angry, what? After some thought, she said: “I felt proud to be selected. I thought, ‘Cool. It means you’re in the elite.’ If he was South Korean, he’d be in the top 1 percent of the men.” Miss Kim, 28, a Korean-American who declined to be identified by her full...

Furry Hat Offers Clues to Progress of N.Korean Succession North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son and heir Jong-un is already being treated with the same level of protocol as his father. A senior South Korean government official last Friday said Kim Jong-un seems to have moved up to the same rank as his father. "The most conspicuous sign is that Kim Jong-un has started wearing a top-quality furry hat that only Kim Jong-il has been wearing so far," the official added. Kim junior wore the same hat as his father in video clips showing Kim senior's so-called on-the-spot guidance trip...

/begin my excerpts Kim Jong-eun's Intensifying Purge of N. Korean Military Lee Myung-sung 2011-01-10 As New Year starts, N. Korean military is in the middle of inexplicable personnel reassignment and purge drive Our source inside N. Korea reported on Jan. 8 that the number of inmates is suddenly swelling at (Jang-hyun-dong) Military Prison. It is under the control of Defense Ministry and located at Jang-huyn-dong Valley, Kimchaek City, North Hamkyung Province. It is right below Machon-ryong Pass. Lately many of (incoming) inmates are former generals purged by Kim Jong-eun. /snip The source said that common soldiers and company (mid-level) officers...

North’s succession will be rocky, says report January 08, 2011 Since the public debut of Kim Jong-un as chosen successor to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, there has been speculation that the succession process itself could be tumultuous because of Kim Jong-un’s youth and inexperience. According to a yearly report from the Korea Institute for National Unification (KINU), there could be conflict and a scramble for power among the North’s elite in 2011 if Kim Jong-il steps down or dies. Kim Jong-il’s third son, Kim Jong-un, sensing a threat to his future leadership, could act to stabilize his ascension this...

/begin my excerpts O Kuk-ryol and Jang Sung-taek's Faction Being Purged Kang Chol-hwan Roadblocks to Kim Jong-eun being cleared O Kuk-ryol, the head of (ruling) party's Operations Bureau, and Jang Sung-taek, brother-in-law of Kim Jong-il, enjoyed unparalleled power during Kim Jong-il's era but they are being reined on, now that Kim Jong-eun era is starting. According to high level N. Korean source(s,) nearly 200 high level officials were arrested by State Security Department in early December of last year. They were either executed or sent to a prison camp. Those arrested include: the head of Seo-kyung Enterprise under party's Finance...

On N. Korean heir's birthday, a rude cyber-greeting By Chico Harlan Washington Post Foreign Service Saturday, January 8, 2011; 7:05 AM BEIJING - Apparently breached by hackers, North Korea's official Twitter account on Saturday described leader Kim Jong Il and heir apparent Kim Jong Eun as sworn enemies and called for an uprising to remove them from power. By the time the micro-blogging mischief was over, the North Korean tweets had ranted to its 10,000-plus Twitter followers about profligate nuclear weapons spending and lavish Kim Jong Il drinking parties - hosted "while 3 million people are starving and freezing to...

Christmas tree at centre of Korea dispute * From: AFP * December 21, 2010 7:04PM SOUTH Korean marines are guarding a Christmas tree, the latest focus of tensions with North Korea following Seoul's artillery drill near the disputed sea border a day earlier. A South Korean church was planning to switch on Christmas lights in the shape of a tree atop a military-controlled hill near the tense land border today - the first such display for seven years. The ceremony will come a day after South Korea staged a live-fire exercise on the border island of Yeonpyeong, which was bombarded...

MANILA, Philippines – The government is prepared to “evacuate all” 60,000 Filipinos in South Korea “if and when needed,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Esteban Conejos said Wednesday. “Everything is in place. We have an updated plan that addresses the security contingent arising in Korea. We will evacuate all if and when needed,” he said in a phone interview with INQUIRER.net. The constant tension in the Korean Peninsula starting with the North Korea’s nuclear testing about two years ago prompted the Philippine government to draw up a plan that includes mobilizing its “extensive network” of Filipino community leaders...

Reuters) - North Korea said on Friday the South and the United States were pushing the peninsula to "the brink of war" with their plan to conduct large-scale military drills, days after the rival Koreas exchanged artillery fire. "The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching closer to the brink of war due to the reckless plan of those trigger-happy elements to stage again war exercises targeted against the (North)," the North's official KCNA news agency

Dim Jong-Un From ALLAN HALL, in Berne, Switzerland Published: Today HE IS the heir apparent poised to become the next leader of rogue state North Korea. And this week Kim Jong-un - youngest son of dictator Kim Jong-il - is said to have ordered the bombardment of South Korean island Yeonpyeong with 200 shells, killing four and causing outrage around the world. The baby-faced 27-year-old stepped out of his father's shadow last month to appear in public in the capital Pyongyang as thousands of goosestepping troops marched by to mark the 65th anniversary of the ruling Workers Party. But a...

Noteworthy in this short FNN Network News (Japanese) clip located at this page.Click on white triangle on the Japanese text page, after going to the link, to stream (on most systems, up for another day or so). Approximately one minute long clip, from Japanese evening news a few hours ago here in Tokyo.a) Footage of Pyongyang, North Korean TV female announcer spitting bile and filth towards innocent South Korea saying that they deserved the attacks because they started it and more would be on the way. b) Japanese and South Korean reporters today apparantly caught and cornered the envoy...

KIM TAE YON made the statement just now in S. Korean Parliament (budget committee) that this is due to the just released information that North Korea has been building a light water nuclear reactor at amazing speed, details just released to the world and satellite photos also revealed.Minister of Defense of South Korea Kim stated that this is to put a halt to North Korean nuclear weapons ambition, and is now being considered, which will go back on South Korea's committment in 1991 under President Roh Tae Woo to never manufacturer, house or use nuclear weapons in South Korea.

N.Korea Reverts to Hardline State Control The North Korean regime is enacting sweeping changes to the law to bolster state control. A source familiar with North Korean affairs on Tuesday said four North Korean laws covering economic planning were revised in April and laws governing management of Pyongyang were revised in March. The revised laws, which the source claims to have seen, "show the central regime's intention to control everything, from the economy to the daily lives of the people." North Korea has changed or enacted at least 17 different laws since November last year, just before a botched currency...

N.Korea heir apparent purges officials: defectors 2 hrs 22 mins ago .SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea's young heir apparent has launched a purge of senior party and military officials in an apparent attempt to cement his grip on power, a North Korean defectors' group said Wednesday. Pyongyang this month began a crackdown on senior officials suspected of corruption, starting in Musan county in the northeastern province of North Hamkyong, said the Seoul-based North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity. A spokesman said the information came from North Korean sources whom he described as senior party officials closely connected with the investigation. "About 15...