US and South Korea Discuss Leadership Change in North Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A senior U.S. diplomat says Washington is committed to strong ties with Seoul as the allies face a leadership transition in North Korea after Kim Jong Il's death.
Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell made the comments Thursday after meetings with South Korean officials in Seoul.
Campbell says Washington is determined to be tightly aligned with Seoul as Kim Jong Il's son Kim Jong Un takes power in North Korea.
Campbell is the highest-level U.S. official to visit the region since Kim's death.
Also on Thursday, North Korea criticized South Korean President Lee Myung-bak for recently urging it to avoid provocation and stop nuclear activities.
The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification warned that Lee's government would face a "stern judgment."
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Also last December 8th, 2012, The US Special Representative for DPRK Policy, Glyn
Davies, has met with senior South Korean government officials to discuss the
two countries' joint approach to Pyongyang's nuclear program. The US envoy
emphasized the importance of North-South dialogue, but little was mentioned of
the likelihood of resuming the 6 party talks.
The US envoy to the DPRK and South Korea's nuclear envoy held a door-stepping
after their 2-hour long meeting on December 8th, 2011. Glyn Davies highlighted
that inter-Korea dialogue is an essential element in the US' policy towards
Pyongyang."
Sources: Yahoo, AP, Wikipedia, and Youtube catch4all.com,
Sandra Englund, January 5th, 2012
North Korean Supreme leader of Kim Jong il has died on December 17, 2011 at 8:30 GMT State Media Announced on Monday
According to Google News /AFP reported December 18th, 2011, North Korean Leader Kim Jong is dead at age of 69 which state media announced Monday that his death caused by a heart attack, plunging the impoverished nuclear-armed nation into uncertainty. However, wikipedia stated that the North Korean government announced his death on 19 December 2011.
The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the leader "passed away from a great mental and physical strain" at 8:30 am on Saturday (2330 GMT Friday), while on a train for one of his "field guidance" tours. CNN also reported that South Korean news agency Yonhap -- which based its reporting on its monitoring off North Korean state television -- said that Kim had died of "physical fatigue" during a train ride. North Korean TV did not provide a more specific cause of death.
The son of Kim Il Song, the founder of the communist nation, Kim Jong Il had been in power since 1994 when his father died of a heart attack at age 82.
The enigmatic leader was a frequent thorn in the side of neighboring South Korea, as well as the United States. There have been reports in recent years about his health, as well as that power will be transitioned to his son, Kim Jong Un.
North Korean news reports earlier this fall indicated that Kim Jong Il had been traveling around the country and visiting China, a big change from 2009 when he was thought to be ill with cancer.
Two senior U.S. military officials said then that they believed the pace of North Korea's planned regime change from Kim to his 20-something son appeared to have slowed.
The son, also known as Kim, started his career as a four-star general and in recent years was given more official duties by his father. Kim Jong-un was promoted to a senior position in the ruling Workers' Party and is heir apparent.
He was the Chairman of the National Defence Commission, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, the ruling party since 1948, and the Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, the fourth largest standing army in the world. In April 2009, North Korea's constitution was amended and now implicitly refers to him as the "Supreme Leader". He was also referred to as the "Dear Leader", "our Father", "the General" and "Generalissimo".
He has four known children:, Kim Sul-song (daughter born December 30, 1974), Kim Jong-nam (son, born May 10, 1971), Kim Jong-chul (son, born September 25, 1981), and Kim Jong-un (son born 1983 or early 1984).
North Korea's potential next leader made his debut at the largest military parade in the country's history, in front of reporters from 18 different countries. See more detail via youtube report by U.S. Jim Axelrod.
In 1994, North Korea and the United States signed an Agreed Framework which was designed to freeze and eventually dismantle the North's nuclear weapons program in exchange for aid in producing two power-generating nuclear reactors. In 2002, Kim Jong-il's government admitted to having produced nuclear weapons since the 1994 agreement. Kim's regime argued the secret production was necessary for security purposes — citing the presence of United States-owned nuclear weapons in South Korea and the new tensions with the US under President George W. Bush. On 9 October 2006, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency announced that it had successfully conducted an underground nuclear test.
President Obama emphasized that to
prevent rules that binding and violation should purnish requested for strong
international response that North Korea must know. All nation must come
together stronger, for global regime, and must stand shoulder to shoulder
together.
You can see the recent test from north Korea back in August, 2011.
A female newscaster, clad in a black funeral dress, also announced Kim's death on South Korea's state TV.
His youngest son, Kim Jong-un, is tipped as possible successor. He was elected general secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea in late September 2010. He headed the commission for his late father's funeral will take place on December 28, 2011. The North Korean leader suffered a stroke in 2008 and spent several months out of public view. Associated Press said Kim suffered from heart problems and diabetes. According to AFP, the North Korean leader died on December 17, at 8:30 GMT. Global security News shows that South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) placed all military units on emergency alert following the news.
Yahoo AP describes that Kim Jong Un as a great successor of the North's guiding philosophy of self reliance and a distinguished leader of the military and people. North Koreans are told he graduated from Kim Il Sung Military University, speaks several foreign languages, including English, and is a whiz at computing and technology. However, his birth date, his marital status and even the name of his mother — said to be Kim Jong Il's late second wife, Ko Yong Hui — are all secrets.
Media in South Korea speculated that the four-star general orchestrated a deadly artillery attack on a front-line South Korean island last year that led to fears of war.
Because of his young age and inexperience, he might end up the figurehead for a government led by powerful, older relatives, Yoon said.
"Even though Kim Jong Un has been appointed as the successor, they may form a committee to rule the country at first," Yoon said. "His power succession is not completed yet.
Another big question is whether Jong Un will be able to secure the lasting support of Kim Jong Il's younger sister and her powerful husband, Jang Song Thaek.
A technocrat educated in Russia during Soviet times, Jang was a rising star until he was summarily demoted in early 2004 in what analysts believe was a warning from Kim against gathering too much influence. But Kim put Jang back at his side in 2006 and relied heavily on him after reportedly suffering a stroke in 2008.
Yahoo AP from Baijing news also reported that John Delury, an assistant professor at Yonsei University's Graduate School of International Studies in South Korea, said Korean mourning traditions could require Kim Jong Un to play a more peripheral role for some time, making it difficult to tell whether he is being sidelined.
"The question will be what's the role of the uncle, Jang Song Thaek, said Delury. There's been talk of some sort of regency, so it's very possible that a small, leading group will emerge with Kim Jong Un as the leading person but especially in the first couple years using the tradition of mourning to actually somewhat take a little bit of a back seat. Related Links:
