Kim Jong-chul (political figure)
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Template:Koreanname north image Kim Jong-chul (born September 25, 1981) is a son of Kim Jong-il, the ruler of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea). Recent reports suggest he is being groomed to succeed his father as ruler of the DPRK.
Kim is the son of Kim Jong-il by his female companion, Koh Yung-hee, a matter of considerable importance. He was presuambly born in Pyongyang and educated at an elite school for the children of Korean Workers' Party leaders, but he is also reported to have received part of his education in France (like other Asian Communist leaders such as Zhou Enlai, Ho Chi Minh and Pol Pot). It is not known whether he holds any posts in the party or state apparatus: none seem to have been announced.
Until 2001, it was assumed that Kim Jong-il's eventual heir would be his eldest son, Kim Jong-nam. Kim Jong-nam is Kim Jong-il's son by one of his earlier girlfriends, Sung Hae-rim. In 1996 Sung was reported to have defected to the west, but intelligence officials in South Korea denied the story. Later Sung was reported to be in Moscow, where she was having treatment for clinical depression. Some reports say she died in Moscow in 2002.
In May 2001 Kim Jong-nam was arrested at New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport) in Narita, Japan (near Tokyo), travelling on a forged passport, and was deported to the People's Republic of China. The incident caused Kim Jong-Il to cancel a planned visit to China because of the embarrassment to both countries. Apparently as a result of this incident, Kim Jong-nam is reported to have fallen from favour with Kim Jong-il, and in late 2003 he was reported to be living in China.
In February 2003 the DPRK People's Army began a propaganda campaign under the slogan "The Respected Mother is the Most Faithful and Loyal Subject to the Dear Leader Comrade Supreme Commander." Since the "Respected Mother" was described as "[devoting] herself to the personal safety of the comrade supreme commander," and "[assisting] the comrade supreme commander nearest to his body," it is assumed that the "Respected Mother" was Koh Young-hee, and that the campaign was designed to promote Kim Jong-chul, her son. (A similar campaign was launched in praise of Kim Jong-il's mother during the later years of Kim Il-sung's life.)
This suggests that Kim Jong-chul, despite his youth, may have emerged as a serious rival, with Army backing, to Kim Jong-nam as the long-term successor to power in the DPRK. Since the loyalty of the Army is the real foundation of the Kim family's continuing hold on power in the DPRK, this would be a powerful factor in his favour in any succession struggle with his half-brother.
Hwang Jang-yup, a former KWP secretary for international affairs who defected to the South in 1997, said in 2003: "An heir must be the child of a woman a king loves, and it is true that Kim Jong-il loves Koh Young-hee most. The fate of Kim Jong-nam has finished." (Although Kim Jong-il is still married to Kim Jong-sook, and has a daughter, Kim Sol-song, by her, Kim Jong-sook has been out of favour for many years.)
See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- Kim Jong-chul - a well-known South Korean poet.ja:金正哲