Mr. Kim Jong Un, the third and youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, has joined the leadership of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. Party delegates on Tuesday elected him as a member of the party's Central Committee and as a vice chairman of the party's Central Military Commission, a position apparently created for him. On Monday, he was named a general of the Korean People's Army. The move has made it clear that the young Kim will become North Korea's next leader at a time when his father's health is reported to be deteriorating following a stroke in 2008.
The assumption of the military positions by Mr. Kim Jong Un shows that North Korea will continue to pursue its songun military-first policy line.
Information about the 27-year-old young Kim is scant. He was born on Jan. 8, 1983. His mother, Ms. Ko Yong Hui, a Japanese-born dancer, is said to have died in 2004. He attended a Swiss international school while in his teens. He is said to have studied later at Kim Il Sung Military University and to have taken initiative in gathering young researchers, leading to the launch of an experimental communications satellite via the Unha-2 rocket in April 2009.