Kim Jong-chul (; born 25 September 1981), sometimes spelled Kim Jong Chol, is a son of former North Korean Supreme Leader

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

. His younger brother is current Supreme Leader

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

. His older half-brother Kim Jong-nam was assassinated in February 2017. In 2007, Jong-chul was appointed deputy chief of a leadership division of the Workers' Party of Korea. However, on 15 January 2009, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency reported that Kim Jong-il appointed his youngest son, Jong-un, to be his successor, passing over Jong-nam and Jong-chul. These reports were supported in April 2009 when Kim Jong-un assumed a low-level position within the ruling Workers' Party since Kim Jong-il was groomed by his own father, Kim Il-sung, in a similar way before becoming North Korean leader in 1994.

Early life

Kim Jong-chul was born in 1981. He is the son of Kim Jong-il and companion Ko Yong-hui, who died in 2004. He was educated at the

International School of Berne International School of Berne (ISBerne) is an international school in Gümligen, Muri bei Bern, Switzerland. Founded in 1961, It serves primarily international students aged 3 to 18. and offers 2 diploma options. The curriculum is the Internatio ...

with younger brother Kim Jong Un. Until 2001, it was assumed that Kim Jong-il's eventual heir would be his eldest son, Kim Jong-nam, whose mother was

Song Hye-rim Song Hye-rim (; 24 January 1937 18 May 2002) was a North Korean actress, best known for being the one-time favored mistress of Kim Jong-il. Early life and education Song was born in Changnyeong when Korea was under Imperial Japanese rule. Sh ...

. But in May 2001, Kim Jong-nam was arrested at

Narita International Airport Narita International Airport ( ja, 成田国際空港, Narita Kokusai Kūkō) , also known as Tokyo-Narita, formerly and originally known as , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Haneda Airport ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, travelling on a forged

Dominican Republic passport Dominican Republic passports are issued to citizens of the Dominican Republic to travel outside the country. Along with Cuba and Haiti, the Dominican Republic passport is considered the weakest passport in Latin America for traveling. Contro ...

. He was held and then deported to the People's Republic of China. The incident caused Kim Jong-il to cancel a planned visit to China because of the embarrassment to both countries. As a result of this incident, Kim Jong-nam fell from favour, although Kim himself said his loss of favour had been due to advocating reform.

Heir apparent

In February 2003, moves began to raise the profile of Kim Jong-chul. The Korean People's Army began a propaganda campaign using the slogan "The Respected Mother is the Most Faithful and Loyal Subject to the Dear Leader Comrade Supreme Commander". Since the "Respected Mother" was described as "

evoting Electronic voting (also known as e-voting) is voting that uses electronic means to either aid or take care of casting and counting ballots. Depending on the particular implementation, e-voting may use standalone ''electronic voting machines'' ( ...

herself to the personal safety of the comrade supreme commander", and " ssistingthe comrade supreme commander nearest to his body", Western analysts assume that the "Respected Mother" was Ko Yong-hui, mother of Kim Jong-chul and Kim Jong-un."Kim Jong Chol – Leadership Succession – Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
''Global Security''. Retrieved 20 January 2009. A similar campaign was launched in praise of Kim Jong-il's mother ( Kim Jong-suk) during the later years of Kim Il-sung's life. This suggested that Kim Jong-chul, despite his youth, had emerged with Army backing to be a serious contender to succeed his father. However,

Kenji Fujimoto is the pen name of a Japanese chef who was the personal sushi chef of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il from 1988 to 2001. Fujimoto published a memoir in 2003 entitled ''I was Kim Jong-il's Cook'', detailing many of his experiences with ...

, Kim Jong-il's personal sushi chef, wrote in his memoir, ''I Was Kim Jong-il's Cook'', that Kim Jong-il thought Jong-chul was "no good because he is like a little girl". Fujimoto believed Kim Jong-il favoured his youngest son, Kim Jong-un. On 1 June 2009, it was reported that Kim Jong-chul had been passed over as his younger brother, Kim Jong-un, was to succeed his father as the head of the Workers' Party of Korea and ''de facto'' head of state of North Korea.

2011–present

Kim Jong-chul was reportedly spotted in Singapore on 14 February 2011, where he was attending an

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

concert. In late 2011, his father died and his younger brother, Kim Jong-un, succeeded his father as the head of state. He was again apparently spotted attending two additional Clapton concerts on successive days at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

in London, in May 2015. According to

Lee Yun-keol Lee may refer to: Name Given name * Lee (given name), a given name in English Surname * Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee: ** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname ** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...

(as reported by '' Wen Wei Po''), chairman of the North Korea Strategy Information Service Center, Kim Jong-chul personally led the arrest of his uncle Jang Song-thaek.Want China News
"Kim Jong-un's brother led arrest of Jang Sung-taek: source"
, 12 December 2013. Some analysts believe that this signals an expanded role for Kim Jong-chul in the North Korean regime. Kim Jong-chul does not involve himself in politics, leading a quiet life in Pyongyang where he plays guitar in a band, according to Thae Yong-ho, North Korea's former deputy ambassador in London who defected to the South.Wonderful Tonight: Taking Kim Jong Un's brother to a Clapton concert
/ref>

Early life

Heir apparent

2011–present

References

Further reading