Order issued not to call N Korea leader`s son `young general`-paper

TOKYO, December 28 (Itar-Tass) - It has been ordered not to call any
more the youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jon-Il and his future
successor Kim Jong-Un "young general," as it has been until now.
Such instructions, in particular, have been given to employees of the
North Korean offices and trade companies in China, the Yomiuri newspaper
reports on Tuesday, citing Chinese sources.
According to them, is has been now officially ordered to call the son
of the North Korean leader "honourable comrade Kim Jong-Un" or "Honourable
Deputy Chairman of the Central Military Commission" that is headed by his
father. It is believed that this should strengthen the authority of the
27-year old heir and help not to overemphasise his youth. Kim Jong-Un has
the highest rank of general.
At the same time, according to the Japanese service of Radio-Press,
the birthday of the heir in the calendar for next year released in North
Korea is not designated as a national holiday and a day off. So far only
the birthdays of his grandfather, the founder of North Korea Kim Il-Sung,
and his father - the country's current leader Kim Jong-Il have such status.
At photographs posted in the country the heir also always stands next
to his father. There have been no individual portraits of him yet. At the
same time, the central newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) -
Rodong Sinmun - prints the heir's name in larger characters than the
ordinary people. Their size corresponds to the font used for the names of
Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il. However, these characters are a little
thinner than that of the heir's father and grandfather, which, according
to experts, suggests that the campaign to strengthen his cult has not yet
been completed.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency also reported North Korea has
prohibited the public from calling Kim Jong-Un "young general." North
Korea has issued such notification to its diplomatic missions abroad and
North Korean traders working in China, Yonhap said in a report from
Shenyang, in China's Liaoning Province. A North Korean government official
told Kyodo News he "has not heard of the ban" of use of that nickname. But
the official said he hardly uses the nickname, and that he instead refers
Kim Jong-Un to "honourable comrade general" or "brilliant comrade general."
Kim Jong-Un is expected to become leader of the country after his
father. His eldest half-brother, Kim Jong-Nam, had been the favourite to
succeed, but reportedly fell out of favour after 2001, when he was caught
attempting to enter Japan on a fake passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland.
Kim Jong-Il's former personal chef, Kenji Fujimoto, revealed details
regarding Kim Jong-Un, with whom he shared a good relationship, stating
that he is favoured to be his father's successor.
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
"Yongmyong-han Tongji" which loosely translates to "Brilliant Comrade."
His father had also asked embassy staff abroad to pledge loyalty to his
son. 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 and Kim
Il-Sung. 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 occurred.
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, the first time North Korean media
had mentioned him by name and despite his having no previous military
experience. Despite the promotion, no further details, including
verifiable portraits of Jong-Un were released. On 28 September 2010 he was
named vice chairman of the Central Military Commission and appointed to
the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, in an apparent nod to become
the successor to Kim Jong-Il.
On 10 October 2010, alongside his father the North Korean leader, Kim
Jong-Il, Kim Jong-Un attended the ruling Workers' Party's 65th anniversary
celebration. This was seen as fully confirming his position as the next
leader of the Workers' Party. Unprecedented international press access was
granted to the event, further indicating the importance of Kim Jong-Un's
presence. Some analysts believe that upon Kim Jong-Il's death, Jong-Un's
uncle Chang Sung-Taek will act as regent, as Jong-Un is presently too
inexperienced to immediately lead the country.
-0-ezh/ast