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Power Restructuring in North Korea: Annointing Kim Jong Il's Successor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 May 2025

Rüdiger Frank
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“Finally,” one is tempted to say. The years of speculation and half-baked news from dubious sources are over. The leadership issue in North Korea has been officially resolved. Or has it?

The third delegate's meeting [1] of the Worker's Party of Korea (WPK) on September 28, 2010 answered a few questions. Still, it left a few unanswered and posed quite a few new ones as well. In the end, Kim Jong Il emerged the undisputed leader. But has his legitimacy become more independent of his father than it used to be? Kim Jong Un has been introduced to the people. Does this mean he is going to succeed Kim Jong Il? Or will he succeed Kim Il Sung? Kim Jong Il's sister Kim Kyong Hui has been promoted to the rank of General and is part of the party leadership. Is she supposed to support her nephew, or is this part of a strategy to more broadly enhance the family's power? Her husband Jang Song Thaek is also on board. Will he share the caretaking job with his wife? Are there any other members of the (extended) Kim family on the team?

Type
Research Article
Information
Asia-Pacific Journal , Volume 8 , Issue 42 , October 2010 , e2
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Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2010

References

Notes

[1] Or conference—not to be mistaken for a congress.

[2] Note that he is not the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, as would be standard in other socialist countries. This implies that he stands above the Central Committee, which cannot elect him or vote him out.

[3] Born in Pyongyang, on February 4, 1928. After graduating from “a university,” he worked as a teacher at the Central Party School, then vice department director of the WPK Central Committee, vice-minister of Foreign Affairs, first vice department director, department director and secretary of the WPK Central Committee, vice-premier of the Administration Council and concurrently minister of Foreign Affairs. He has served as president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly since September of 1998 (source: KCNA, 29.09.2010).

[4] Born on November 20, 1930, in Kyonghung County, North Hamgyong Province. Joined the Korean People's Army in July 1950. He got the qualifications as an economic engineer after graduating from “a university.” He worked as instructor, section chief, vice department director, first vice department director and department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea and chief secretary of the Secretaries Office of the Kumsusan Assembly Hall. Then he held posts of vice-premier of the Administration Council, director of the Central Public Prosecutor's Office and secretary general of the SPA Presidium. He worked as chief secretary of the Pyongyang City Committee of the WPK until he was appointed as premier of the Cabinet in June 2010 (source: KCNA, 29.09.2010).

[5] Born in Yonsa County, North Hamgyong Province, on July 12, 1928. Joined the Korean People's Army in December 1950. After graduation from the Aviation School, he worked as battalion commander, regimental commander, divisional commander, chief of staff and commander of the air force of the Korean People's Army and director of the General Political Bureau of the KPA. He has held the post of first vice chairman of the National Defense Commission of the DPRK since February of 2009 (source: KCNA, 29.09.2010).

[6] Born in Thongchon County, Kangwon Province on October 5, 1942. Joined the Korean People's Army in August 1959. After graduation from Kim Il Sung Military University he worked as chief of staff of a division, director of the operations department of an army corps, head of a training center, vice-director of the operations department of the General Staff, its deputy chief and head of a training center of the KPA. He has worked as chief of the General Staff of the KPA since February of 2009 (source: KCNA, 29.09.2010).

[7] This department is basically responsible for the Party's personnel policy and hence regarded as being a key post.