Seoul: The youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has been given a post in the ruling Communist party to prepare him for the succession, a South Korean lawmaker was Tuesday quoted as saying.
Kim Jong-Un is expected to take over some time between 2010 and 2012, legislator Yoon Sang-Hyun was quoted as saying by Yonhap news agency.
Yoon, citing information he received from Seoul government sources, said Jong-Un has been given a deputy director-level position in the party.
JoongAng Ilbo newspaper carried a similar report. The 67-year-old Kim, who reportedly suffered a stroke in August last year, is widely believed to be grooming his third son Jong-Un as his successor.
But today`s reports were the first to mention the party post or give a possible timeframe for the takeover. The secretive state has disclosed no information on Jong-Un or on
any succession plan.
JoongAng said Yoon, who belongs to the ruling Grand National Party, got his information from a confidential Seoul government report.
This reportedly stated that the junior Kim was born in 1984 and graduated from Pyongyang`s Kim Il-Sung National War College -- named after the North`s founding president and father of Kim Jong-Il.
Bureau Report
