Kim Jong Nam is Kim Jong Il’s son and will probably become the ruler of the Communist Korean state at some point. Little is known about him, but is believed that he is a computer geek. In the Korean Communist tradition, each dictator has been called in public with specific terms of endearment. Kim Il Sung was the “great leader” while his son, the second member of the dynasty, Kim Jong Il is known as the “dear leader.” Should we get ready for the “noob leader”?
Kim Jong Nam (born May 10, 1971), is the eldest son of Kim Jong Il, ruler of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). Until recently it was believed that he was being groomed as Kim Jong Il’s successor, but recent reports suggest he has fallen from favour.
Kim was born in Pyongyang, to Song Hye Rim, one of Kim Jong Il’s many mistresses. In 1996 Song was reported to have defected to the west, but intelligence officials in South Korea denied the story. Later Song was reported to be in Moscow, where she was having treatment for clinical depression. Some reports say she died in Moscow in 2002.
Kim Jong Nam was educated at an elite school for the children of Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) leaders. As the grandson of Kim Il Sung, the DPRK’s absolute ruler and “Great Leader” from 1947 to 1994, he would have been treated with the utmost deference. Later, however, he was reported to have studied computer science in Japan and Switzerland, where he would have gained some knowledge of the West and of outside views of the DPRK.
In 1998 Kim was appointed to a senior position in the Ministry of Public Security, the DPRK security apparatus, indicating that he was being promoted as a future leader. He was also reported to have been appointed head of the DPRK Computer Committee, in charge of developing an information technology industry. In January 2001 he accompanied his father to Shanghai, where he had talks with Chinese officials on the IT industry. [More...]