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North Korea Opens Ruling Party Convention

   Kim  Jong Il names youngest son as military general, making him likely
   successor

   VOA News 28 September 2010

   North  Korean  state  media  say  the ruling Workers' Party opened its
   biggest  convention in 30 years Tuesday, hours after ruler Kim Jong Il
   named his youngest son as a military general.
   State  TV said in a broadcast that Mr. Kim was immediately reappointed
   as  general-secretary  at  the start of the party meeting to elect its
   top leadership.
   Earlier, Mr. Kim gave his son the military rank of general.  The move
   lends credence to predictions that the meeting will be used to prepare
   for an eventual transfer of power to Mr. Kim's third and youngest son,
   Kim Jong Un.
   Analysts  expect  the  delegates  to fill a number of vacant posts and
   name younger officials to replace some elderly members.

   The North's official news agency said that Kim Kyong Hui, which is the
   name  of  Kim  Jong  Il's  sister,  was  also  promoted to the rank of
   general. Â
   Some  experts  have  said she or her husband, Jang Song Taek, could be
   given  a  prominent post to help prepare Mr. Kim's son, who is only in
   his 20s with no military experience, to take power.
   Assistant  U.S.  Secretary  of  State for East Asia Kurt Campbell told
   reporters  that  Washington is watching the developments carefully and
   will discuss them with its partners in the region.  Â
   Campbell  said  it  is too early to understand what is going on inside
   North Korea's leadership. Â
   Kim  Jong Il is widely believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008, and
   he  looked  frail  in  photographs  taken during meetings with foreign
   officials in the past few months. Â
   The  Workers'  Party has not had a full party congress since 1980, and
   the  conference  of  delegates  has  not  met  since 1966.  Tuesday's
   conference  of  delegates is expected to be accompanied by the biggest
   military parade in North Korean history.
   The party marks the 65th anniversary of its founding next month.

   Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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