On September 28th, 2010, Kim Jong Il’s third son Kim Jong Eun emerged as official successor to the Kim dynasty at the 3rd Chosun Workers’ Party Delegates’ Conference in Pyongyang, beating off competition from his two siblings. Two days later, Workers’ Party publication Rodong Shinmun ran the first official images of the successor.
Kim, who had not been seen in a photo since he attended an international school in Switzerland in his teens, had undergone a complete transformation. A plump face atop a large frame, even the haircut; defectors said the scene evoked nothing so much as a youthful Kim Il Sung.
Now, one year later, it is interesting to look back at what the North Korean media has allowed the domestic and international audience to see, as the young successor accompanied his father on various onsite inspections.
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From some time before the Delegates’ Conference, CNC, or Computer Numerical Control, was being used as a symbol of the new blood and youthful innovation allegedly represented by the young successor.
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Just two weeks after his actual arrival on the stage, Kim reviewed a military parade from the podium alongside his father, commemorating the 65th anniversary of the Chosun Workers’ Party.
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Kim has been accompanying his father on onsite inspections ever since. Here, he is seen in the backdrop as Kim Jong Il hands out advice at a glass factory in North Pyongan Province on January 15th, 2011.
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It hasn’t all been plain sailing, however. Around the time of his father’s birthday in February, Kim appeared on national TV looking through a pair of binoculars. However, the binoculars appeared to be upside down, raising questions about propaganda efforts to portray him as the sucessor to the military-first line.
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Nevertheless, by July 2nd Kim was being shown on TV receiving a deep bow from Supreme People’s Assembly speaker Choi Tae Bok. Experts seized on the image as evidence of the smooth progress of the succession process.
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On July 23rd, images emerged of the two Kims at a fruit farm and newly constructed processing facility near Pyongyang.
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On September 9th, it was reported by Chosun Central TV that the Kims had visited a video company in Pyongyang.
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Most recently, on September 25th, KCNA reported news of a meeting between Choummaly Sayasone, the leader of Laos, and Kim Jong Il, attended by Kim Jong Eun. It was the first time Kim was reported as being in attendance at a meeting with a head of state.
