Kim Jong Un

 Kim Jong Un

BEIJING: North Korea's heir apparent Kim Jong Un has swiftly risen to power since being made a four-star general a year ago, but he is even more of an enigma than his late father was during 17 years of absolute power.

 Within hours of news breaking Monday of leader Kim Jong Il's death over the weekend, the North's official Korean Central News Agency was reporting that the country, people and military ``must faithfully revere respectable comrade Kim Jong Un.''

 The agency also referred to Jong Un as a ``great successor'' of the North's guiding philosophy of self reliance and a ``distinguished leader of the military and people.''

 So far, Jong Un, Kim Jong Il's third son, has a thin leadership record _ much less than the 20 years Kim Jong Il spent being groomed for power before he took over in 1994.

 Despite a vigorous political campaign to install Jong Un as the new leader in the people's minds, he remains an enigma, even to those at home. It is unclear what direction he will take the nation of 24 million people, how much power will fall to the military and officials surrounding him, and what China's role will be with its ally.

 The elder Kim unveiled Jong Un as his successor a year ago, putting him in top posts. Over the past year, Jong Un regularly accompanied his father on trips around the country. And Jong Un steadily built his political clout by reportedly becoming involved in domestic and foreign policy and securing a position in the ruling Workers' Party.

 North Koreans are told he graduated from Kim Il Sung Military University, speaks several foreign languages, including English, and is a whiz at computing and technology. However, his birth date, his marital status and even the name of his mother _ said to be Kim Jong Il's late second wife, Ko Yong Hui _ are all secrets.

 ``There is a rumor that he is married, but officially we don't know,'' said Yoon Deok-ryong, an expert in North Korean economic reform at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy in Seoul.

 Media in South Korea speculated that the four-star general orchestrated a deadly artillery attack on a front-line South Korean island last year that led to fears of war.

 Because of his young age and inexperience, he might end up the figurehead for a government led by powerful, older relatives, Yoon said.

 ``Even though Kim Jong Un has been appointed as the successor, they may form a committee to rule the country at first,'' Yoon said. ``His power succession is not completed yet.''

 Another big question is whether Jong Un will be able to secure the lasting support of Kim Jong Il's younger sister and her powerful husband, Jang Song Thaek.

 A technocrat educated in Russia during Soviet times, Jang was a rising star until he was summarily demoted in early 2004 in what analysts believe was a warning from Kim against gathering too much influence. But Kim put Jang back at his side in 2006 and relied heavily on him after reportedly suffering a stroke in 2008.

 John Delury, an assistant professor at Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies in South Korea, said Korean mourning traditions could require Jong Un to play a more peripheral role for some time, making it difficult to tell whether he is being sidelined.

Kim Jong-un (Korean: 김정은) also known as Kim Jong-eun or Kim Jung-eun, formerly Kim Jong-woon or Kim Jung-woon (born 1983 or early 1984), is the third and youngest son of deceased North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his consort Ko Young-hee. Since late 2010, Kim Jong-un has been viewed as heir presumptive to the leadership of the nation, and following the announcement of his father's death, he was announced as the "Great Successor" by North Korean state television.

He is a Daejang in the Korean People's Army, a military rank equivalent to that of a (full) General. Kim is said to have studied computer science privately in Korea. 

Early life

Kim is thought to have been born in 1983 or early 1984. North Korean officials gave his date of birth as 8 January 1984.

He attended the English-language International School of Berne, Switzerland, until 1998 under a pseudonym. Former classmates have asserted that he attended Gümlingen International School or Liebefeld public school. His pseudonym at Gümligen was "Pak Chol" and he pretended to be the son of a driver, although in Liebefeld, the teacher told the class that he was from North Korea.[citation needed] An older student chaperoned him all the time. In Liebefeld, he told his friend Joao Micaelo that he was the son of the heir to the North Korea leader, though Micaelo said he didn't believe him at the time. He was described as a shy child who was uncommunicative with unfamiliar people and was only distinguished for his competitive nature, particularly in sports, and a fascination with the NBA and Michael Jordan. Allegedly, one friend claimed that he had met and even had pictures taken with Kobe Bryant and Toni Kukoč, but was unsure where. He reportedly stayed in Switzerland until late 1999 or early 2000 when former classmates claimed he "disappeared." The ambassador of North Korea in Switzerland, Ri Tcheul, had a close relationship with him and acted as a mentor while there. Switzerland has always stayed neutral in the conflict between North and South Korea. The Kim clan is said to organise family meetings at Lake Geneva and Interlaken.

For many years, only one confirmed photograph of him was known outside North Korea, apparently taken in the mid-1990s, when he was eleven. Occasional other supposed images of him surfaced but were often disputed. It was only in June 2010, shortly before he was given official posts and publicly introduced to the North Korean people, that more pictures were released of Kim, taken when he was attending school in Switzerland. The first official image of him as an adult was a group photograph released on 30 September 2010 at the end of the party conference that effectively anointed him, in which he is seated in the front row, two places from his father. This was followed by newsreel footage of him attending the conference.

Succession

Kim Jong-un became the leader of the country after his father's death on December, 17, 2011. His eldest half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, had been the favorite to succeed, but reportedly fell out of favour after 2001, when he was caught attempting to enter Japan on a fake passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

Kim Jong-il's former personal chef, Kenji Fujimoto, revealed details regarding Kim Jong-un, with whom he shared a good relationship, stating that he is favored to be his father's successor. Fujimoto also claimed that Jong-un was favored by his father over his elder brother, Kim Jong-chul, reasoning that Jong-chul is too feminine in character, while Jong-un is "exactly like his father." Furthermore Fujimoto stated that "If power is to be handed over then Jong-un is the best for it. He has superb physical gifts, is a big drinker and never admits defeat." When Jong-un was 18, Fujimoto described an episode where Jong-un questioned his lavish lifestyle and asked, "We are here, playing basketball, riding horses, riding Jet Skis, having fun together. But what of the lives of the average people?" On 15 January 2009 the South Korean news agency, Yonhap, reported that Kim Jong-il appointed Kim Jong-un to be his successor.

On 8 March 2009, the BBC reported rumors that Kim Jong-un appeared on the ballot for elections to the Supreme People's Assembly, the rubber stamp parliament of North Korea. Subsequent reports indicate that his name did not appear on the list of lawmakers,[ however he was later elevated to a mid-level position in the National Defense Commission, which is a branch of the North Korean Military. Reports have also suggested that he is a diabetic and suffers from hypertension.

From 2009, it was understood by foreign diplomatic services that Kim was to succeed his father Kim Jong-il as the head of the Korean Workers' Party and de-facto leader of North Korea. He has been named "Yŏngmyŏng-han Tongji" (영명한 동지) which loosely translates to "Brilliant Comrade." His father had also asked embassy staff abroad to pledge loyalty to his son. There have also been reports that citizens in North Korea have been encouraged to sing a newly composed "song of praise" to Kim Jong-un, in a similar fashion to that of praise songs relating to Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung. Later in June, Kim was reported to have visited China secretly to "present himself" to the Chinese leadership, who later warned against North Korea conducting another nuclear test. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has strongly denied that this visit occurred.

North Korea was later reported to have backed the succession plan, after Kim Jong-il suspended a propaganda campaign to promote his youngest son. His birthday has since become a national holiday, celebrated on 1 January, according to a report by a South Korean website. He was expected to be named on 28 September 2010 as successor to his father as leader of North Korea.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter visited China in early September 2010, and discussed the issue of North Korean leadership succession with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. According to Carter, Wen told Carter that Kim Jong-il had said to Wen that Kim Jong-un's prospective promotion to paramount leader of North Korea was "a false rumor from the West."

Kim Jong-un was made a Daejang, the equivalent of General in the United States, on 27 September 2010, a day ahead of a rare Workers' Party of Korea conference in Pyongyang, the first time North Korean media had mentioned him by name and despite his having no previous military experience. Despite the promotion, no further details, including verifiable portraits of Jong-un were released. On 28 September 2010 he was named vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and appointed to the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, in an apparent nod to become the successor to Kim Jong-il.

On 10 October 2010, alongside his father the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un attended the ruling Workers' Party's 65th anniversary celebration. This was seen as fully confirming his position as the next leader of the Workers' Party. Unprecedented international press access was granted to the event, further indicating the importance of Kim Jong-un's presence.

On 17 December 2011, Kim Jong-il died. Despite the elder Kim's plans, it was not immediately clear after his death whether Jong-un would in fact take full power, and what his exact role in a new government would be. Some analysts believe that following Kim Jong-il's death, Jong-un's uncle Chang Sung-taek will act as regent, as Jong-un is presently too inexperienced to immediately lead the country.

His name was first reported as 김정운 (金正雲), possibly an error in transliterating the name from Japanese to Korean, as the Japanese language does not distinguish between 운 (un) and 은 (eun). The initial source of his name was Kim Jong-il's former personal chef, known by the pen name Kenji Fujimoto, who was among the few who had access to information about Kim's household from inside the secretive regime.Chinese media, however, have named him as 김정은 (Hanja: 金正恩).