North Korea’s leader-in-waiting, the youngest son of ailing ruler Kim Jong-il, took center stage during a massive military parade yesterday, his public appearance being broadcast live for the first time.
Kim Jong-un stood near his father on the dais, clapping and saluting thousands of goose-stepping soldiers, and reviewing missiles, tanks and artillery rockets.
The young Kim’s prominent role at the parade in Pyongyang’s Kim Il-sung Square marked his military “coming out” and served to boost his standing in one of the world’s largest armies.
Until his appointment as a general last month — along with his naming to a key political post — little was known about Kim Jong-un other than that he was educated in Switzerland.
“The future of our country is rosy and bright because Kim Jong-un was elected vice chairman of the military commission of the Workers’ Party [of Korea (WPK)],” said a government official, who asked not to be identified. “We have a proverb in Korean that great teachers produce great students and great parents produce great children.”
“Kim Jong-il is healthy enough to lead our country and to give spot guidance in every field including economic, agricultural, industrial, military and arts,” the official said.
Kim Jong-il, 68, is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008, but he has shown no sign of losing his grip on power and was reappointed last month as secretary-general of the WPK.
He stood for more than an hour during the parade and waved to the crowds, but limped noticeably and reached to the balcony for support.
State television broadcast the parade live, giving North Koreans their first real look at their most likely next leader, known only to be in his mid to late-20s.
A stable succession would be a relief to North Korea’s economically powerful neighbors — China, South Korea and Japan — which worry that a regime collapse could result in massive refugee flows and domestic unrest.
Kim Jong-un, the third son of the ailing leader, is poised to continue dynastic rule in the isolated state, which also has ambitions to develop nuclear weapons.
Among the guests at the parade, the biggest in the North in years, were foreign diplomats and Chinese officials — the destitute North’s only major ally, on which it relies for food and fuel aid.
The government also invited foreign media to watch the parade, which marked the 65th anniversary of the founding of the WPK and gave the world its first independent look at the protege.
Kim Jong-il, who now sports a large, unexplained mark on the right side of his face, was greeted with thunderous applause and chants of “Long Live Kim Jong-il.”
Thousands of soldiers armed with machineguns, bayonets and swords marched to the tune of brass bands in the square, dominated by a giant portrait of the state’s founder, Kim Il-sung.
“This military parade shows that we are certain of success if the United States dares to attack us,” said Kim Yoon-jong, 21, a factory worker at the parade wearing traditional red, white and pink dress.
The parade in the center of the capital was the climax of celebrations that started at the end of last month with the staging of a rare party conference to pick a new leadership.
After months of speculation, the untested Kim Jong-un was made second-in-command to his father on the ruling party’s powerful Central Military Commission, as well as being appointed a party Central Committee member.
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
RSS