The heavy-jowled Kim Jong Un looks poised to succeed his father. But he was not always the most likely: TIME looks at those in the Kim clan who may have had (or still possess) designs on the Hermit Kingdom's top job.
Kim Jong Un
The world was introduced to the double-chinned twenty-something a year and a half ago when he was heralded as the ailing Kim Jong Il’s heir apparent, standing on a dais before massed throngs at the first “Worker’s Party Conference” held by Pyongyang in 30 years. Little is known about Jong Un. The North Korean dictator’s third and youngest son, Jong Un was considered Jong Il’s favorite, dubbed “Morning Star King” by a doting mother. According to reports, he attended a Swiss boarding school before finishing his education in North Korean military academies. Jong Un now stands poised to take up the mantle of the Great Leader, but shadows lurk: few can divine whether the portly princeling may be able to build up the same cult of personality that still surrounds his father and grandfather, Kim Il Sung — a man whom he is said to resemble. He may also face challenges to his fledgling authority from rival generals and officials within the regime.
Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/12/19/after-kim-jong-il-a-look-at-the-kim-family-tree/#ixzz1hA9syK3q
Kim Jong Nam
The eldest son — Jong Nam’s mother was Song Hye Rim, a celebrity North Korean actress who was initially Kim Jong Il’s secret mistress — Jong Nam was groomed for succession until the awkward day in 2001 when he was seized by Japanese authorities for trying to enter the country on a forged Dominican Republic passport. Jong Nam allegedly told police there ahead of being deported to China that he simply wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland. The incident, coupled with the rumored defection of Jong Nam’s mother (she died in Russia in 2002), led to his estrangement from his father. Jong Nam would take up residence in the casino mecca of Macau and gain notoreity for his gambling habits and hard-drinking. In 2007, TIME and Global Spin’s Austin Ramzy and Ishaan Tharoor came across his house tucked away in a quiet gated community on the black-sanded island of Coloane. No one answered the door, but hung prominently by a window was a picture of a sunflower bending to the sun’s rays — a sign, even in reported exile, of Jong Nam’s filial duty to his now deceased father.
Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/12/19/after-kim-jong-il-a-look-at-the-kim-family-tree/#ixzz1hAA3hatN
Kim Jong Chol
We only have snippets of information of Kim Jong Chol, the middle son in the family and the oldest born to Kim Jong Il’s favored, third mistress, Ko Young Hui. Jong Chol was given prominent positions in the Hermit Kingdom’s Orwellian-named Organization & Guidance and Propaganda & Agitation departments, a sign that he was being groomed for bigger things. But according to a memoir published by an anonymous Japanese chef who once served the regime, Kim Jong Il looked upon his middle son with distaste, considering him too “unmanly” and “effeminate” to take up his crown. He was allegedly spotted, as pictured above, attending an Eric Clapton concert in Singapore earlier this year.
Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/12/19/after-kim-jong-il-a-look-at-the-kim-family-tree/#ixzz1hAABSY4X
Kim Seol Song
Kim Jong Il’s eldest child — a daughter — Seol Song lives in the shadow of her three male siblings. Her mother, a daughter of a high-ranking military official, was handpicked to be Kim Jong Il’s partner. But she would be shunted aside in later years. According to reports, Seol Song remained ever loyal to her father and supervised many of his official trips, accompanying him regularly.
Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/12/19/after-kim-jong-il-a-look-at-the-kim-family-tree/#ixzz1hAAHeOgp
Kim Kyong Hui
Kim Jong Il’s only sister, known to be a cantankerous alcoholic in her 60s, was promoted alongside Kim Jong Un in 2010 to the rank of a four-star general, a top officer in the North Korean military. The move was seen as a measure to consolidate power and influence among the Kims, at a time when the heir apparent — Jong Un — seemed unready and weak. Depending on what account you listen to, it was also either a way of promoting Kyong Hui’s husband, the influential general Chang Sung Taek is, or mitigating against his own direct influence.
Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/12/19/after-kim-jong-il-a-look-at-the-kim-family-tree/#ixzz1hAANdxcu
Chang Sung Taek
Kim Jong Il’s brother-in-law, Sung Taek is suspected by some as being the real force behind the regime, the secretive puppet master in the state most shrouded by secrets. It was thought that Sung Taek would play regent to Jong Un, allowing the third Kim to rule North Korea time to grow into his position. But, according to TIME’s Bill Powell, that may not be true. Instead, Sung Taek may be at the heart of an internal palace struggle, one which might have put him even at odds with his own wife, Kim Kyong Hui. After all, it’s reported that Kim Il Sung — father of Kim Jong Il and architect of the North Korean state — disapproved of Sung Taek’s marriage into the family.
Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/12/19/after-kim-jong-il-a-look-at-the-kim-family-tree/#ixzz1hAAVV3v7
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