North leader's son climbing party ladder

TOKYO -- Kim Hyon, 30, a son of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was appointed head the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the North Korean Workers' Party, the Japan-based Jiji Press reported Thursday, quoting sources in Beijing.

The elder Mr. Kim also led the propaganda department after he was designated as the successor to his father, Kim Il Sung, the founder of the North Korean regime. Kim Jong-il used his position at the propaganda department to ensure his place as the country's future leader, North Korea experts said.

Jiji Press speculated that Kim Hyon's appointment suggests that he is being groomed to take the reins in North Korea rather than his older stepbrother, Kim Jong-nam, who is Kim Jong-il's eldest son.

Many observers believe that Kim Jong-nam was struck from his father's list of successors after he was deported from Japan in May 2001 for attempting to enter the country with a fake passport.

According to sources in Beijing, an official in charge of the education of executives referred to Kim Hyon as the head of the propaganda department during a recent meeting in Pyeongyang.

Little is known about Kim Hyon, who is also called Kim Hyon-nam.

by Oh Day-young