Image searching the Brilliant Comrade
Before the advent of photography most subjects of a kingdom probably had no idea what their monarch looked like, unless they saw him or her in person or were lucky enough to get glimpse of a painted portrait.
This is what it must have felt like living in North Korea all week. The only pictorial evidence we had that Kim Jong-un, hitherto to be referred to as the "Brilliant Comrade" even existed was a grainy black and white picture of an eight-year-old boy.
Well, North Korea has burst out of the Middle Ages and plunged - caution to the wind - into the modern era of video by treating the world to moving pictures of one of the planet's most otherworldly political experiences, the North Korean Workers Party Congress.
There, in the front row, wedged between his aunt and a general festooned with enough medals to give a metal detector indigestion is the Brilliant Comrade, looking slightly startled by all the adulation and exceedingly well nourished.
All the signals have now been sent by the regime. The younger Kim is our man.
We have no idea how long the dauphin will have to wait before ascending the throne or who, if anyone, will try to manipulate him, but the Kim dynasty seems intent on avoiding early retirement.
If I were working for the US State Department I would take another look at that yearbook photo from the Brilliant Comrade's Swiss boarding school and start ringing around some of his former classmates.
You never know, perhaps the world's newest and most inscrutable heir is even on Facebook under a different name.
~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~44~RS~)
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Kim the elder may be on his last legs but until the rest of the Cold War relics that make up North Korea's ruling elite relinquish their grasp on power (or die of old age) not much is likely to change when he passes from the scene. Kim the younger will probably be little more than a figurehead until he can form a power base of his own and oust the old guard. The question is: will this pampered son of privilege be moved by his countrymen's plight badly enough to do what's needed to change it?
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Jong-un is favored by his father over
- elder brother, Jong-chul (allegedly too feminine in character) and
- elder brother Jong-nam (caught attempting to enter Japan on a fake passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland)
Jong-un is apparently: exactly like his father.
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 that Kim Jong-un appeared on the ballot for elections to the Supreme People's Assembly - Parliament of North Korea.
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 head of state of North Korea. He has been named "Yŏngmyŏng-han Tongji", which loosely translates to 'Brilliant Comrade'.
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.
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 even occurred, which may demonstrate the close ties between China and North Korea: We don't need to tell the west what the west does not need to know.
Jong-un was expected to be named on 28 September 2010 as successor to his father as leader of North Korea.
In prelim, Kim Jong-un was made a Daejang, the equivalent to an American Four-Star General, on 27 September 2010, a day ahead of a rare Workers' Party of Korea conference in Pyongyang. On 28 September 2010 he was named Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission and appointed to the Central Committee of the Workers' Party.
Jong-un can expect help from his uncle Chang Sung-taek. Chang Sung-taek is a North Korean politician and the brother-in-law of Kim Jong-il. He is a leading figure in the North Korean government; South Korea suggested that he may have taken on leadership over North Korea when Kim Jong-il was sick. Chang is currently Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Commission, a position considered second only to Kim Jong-Il.
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