North Korea Leadership Watch

Research and Analysis on the DPRK Leadership

Jang-O Competition for Foreign Geetis

Two KJI confidantes and National Defense Commission Vice Chairmen, Jang Song Taek and  Gen. O Kuk Ryol, are rumored to be competing to earn the most foreign investment for North Korea through their respective international […]

Jul, 06

The Restoration of Office #38

Office #38, one of the bureaus that manages Kim Jong Il’s finances (as well as an owner-operator of Korean restaurants and hotels in the country and abroad), was “restored” in March, 2010, after reportedly being […]

Jun, 22
Jang Song Taek Biographical Sketch

Jang Song Taek Biographical Sketch

“Her husband was a tall, slender, handsome man…as soon as they arrived, Kim Jong-il introduced us. ‘This is my younger sister, Kim Kyong-hui.  This is Madame Choi.  Say hello.’  Kyong-hui introduced herself first, then her […]

Jun, 18

Kim Jong Nam Interview

Kim Jong Nam, eldest son and aide of KJI, told a South Korean journalist that he has no plans to move to Europe and that his father  is “doing well” with regard to his health.  […]

Jun, 07

Personnel Shuffles in the first half of 2010

With the deaths of Ri Je Gang and KPA Artillery Commander Col. Gen. Ri Jong Bu, eleven (11) members of North Korea’s leadership have either passed away, been replaced or disappeared from public life in […]

Jun, 04
KJI Granddaughter's Friend From the South

KJI Granddaughter's Friend From the South

Kim Jong Nam does not restrict his children’s South Korean cultural interactions to the occasional Rain concert.  Mr. Kim (whose business commitments find him dividing his time between Macau, Beijing and Pyongyang) is said to […]

Jun, 02

KJI Concerned About "Unrest" in Early February Over Money Crunch (revised 18 April)

Choson Ilbo, citing a story from Open Radio for NK, reports that Kim Jong Il was worried about public discontent at a meeting in early February. At a meeting on Feb. 2 in which he […]

Apr, 16

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