Kim Jong-chul
| Kim Jong-chul | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 김정철 |
| Born |
25 September 1981 Pyongyang, North Korea |
| Nationality | North Korea |
| Education | Kim Il Sung University |
| Political party | Workers' Party of Korea |
| Relatives |
Kim Jong-il (father) Ko Yong-hui (mother) Kim Il-sung (grandfather) Kim Jong-nam (brother) Kim Jong-un (brother) |
| Korean name | |
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 김정철 |
| Hancha | |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Jeongcheol |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Chŏngch'ŏl |
Kim Jong-chul (born 25 September 1981) is a son of North Korean Kim Jong-il. His younger brother is Kim Jong-un, now the leader of North Korea. His older half-brother was Kim Jong-nam.
In 2007, Jong-chul was appointed deputy chief of a leadership division of the Workers' Party of Korea. However, on 15 January 2009, the South Korean News Agency reported that Kim Jong-il appointed his youngest son, Jong-un, to be his successor, passing over Jong-nam and Jong-chul.
These reports were supported in April 2009 when Kim Jong-un assumed a low-level position within the ruling Workers' Party, since Kim Jong-il was groomed by his own father, Kim Il-sung, in a similar way before becoming North Korean leader in 1994.
Kim Jong-chul was born in 1981. He is the son of Kim Jong-il and companion Ko Yong-hui, who died in 2004. Until 2001, it was assumed that Kim Jong-il's eventual heir would be his eldest son, Kim Jong-nam, whose mother was Song Hye-rim. But in May 2001, Kim Jong-nam was arrested at New Tokyo International Airport, Japan, travelling on a forged Dominican Republic passport. He was held and then 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. As a result of this incident, Kim Jong-nam had fallen from favour.
In February 2003, moves began to raise the profile of Kim Jong-chul. The Korean People's Army began a propaganda campaign using 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", Western analysts assume that the "Respected Mother" was Ko Yong-hui, mother of Kim Jong-chul and Kim Jong-un. A similar campaign was launched in praise of Kim Jong-il's mother during the later years of Kim Il-sung's life. This suggested that Kim Jong-chul, despite his youth, had emerged with Army backing to be a serious contender to succeed his father.
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Wikipedia