BEIJING // North Korea told its people to take a day off to celebrate the birthday of the leader Kim Jong Il's youngest son on Friday, a move widely seen as another step towards solidifying a family succession of power, South Korean media outlets with sources inside the secretive country reported.
The Open Radio for North Korea, a website and broadcaster in Seoul, said the birthday of Kim Jong Un, who turned 27 on Friday, was designated a national holiday. On the same day, Daily NK, a South Korean media outlet whose reporters include North Korean defectors, also said the North declared a national holiday on January 8 to honour Mr Kim's birthday. Yesterday, South Korea's major newspaper, Donga Ilbo, cited a source inside North Korea as saying: "People were told to take a day off on the 8th without being given an explanation. But most people knew it's because of Jong Un's birthday."
South Korea's ministry of unification, the country's main arm to deal with North Korean affairs, said it could not confirm the reports.
North Korea watchers had been looking out for signs that national celebrations might be underway for the birthday of Mr Kim, the widely regarded heir designate.
In South Korea, where about 20,000 North Korean defectors reside, their network with North Koreans inside the secretive country sometimes brings news faster than the intelligence community.
Analysts said the reports that Mr Kim's birthday had been officially celebrated - and that this was a step towards succession - were believable.
"I think there is a certain level of credibility into those reports," said Yoo Ho-yeol, a North Korea specialist at Korea University in Seoul. "I am not sure whether the holiday was enforced on a national level or on a cadre level. Anyway, it's a way of laying down the ground work to create an environment conducive for the succession."
Others, however, were sceptical.
Lee Gee-dong, a specialist in North Korea's power hierarchy, said in order for Pyongyang to have officially celebrated Mr Kim's birthday, it would mean that the "core ruling elite" of the ruling Worker's Party would had to have already pledged their allegiance to him.
"I don't think it is at that stage now. We have yet to see the plenum. Besides, Jong Un doesn't have a confirmed official status within the Worker's Party," said Mr Lee, a senior fellow at South Korea's Institute for National Security Strategy, a government-run think tank.
Lu Chao, a Chinese expert on North Korea at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, located near the China-North Korea border, said: "I have yet to confirm [the celebration] as a fact. The matter doesn't seem to be very urgent for North Korea, contrary to what were reported by some media outlets.
"Everyone knows that [succession] is coming. But it's still at the initial stage."
Succession speculation has intensified since Kim Jong Il, 67, suffered a stroke in August 2008. The leader's apparent recovery is also a factor why North Korea is not in a hurry for the succession process, which it fears would undermine the current leader, Mr Lu said.
In general, however, analysts believe that North Korea has more or less completed the "top-down" task of promoting Kim Jong Un as his father's heir among the power elite and inside the government bureaucratic system. This year, they say, it will focus on the "bottom-top" propaganda campaign to give the appearance that Kim Jong Un is "approved" by people.
In North Korea, officially, the leader is not appointed by a political consultative process, but rather is "approved" by the people, to give the appearance that the country is a "people's republic". In reality, though, the leader, including the current leader, Kim Jong Il, is hand-picked by his predecessor. Mr Kim was the son of Kim Il Sung, the country's founder who is still revered as the "Great Leader". He died in 1994.
According to yesterday's report in the South Korean Donga Ilbo, citing a source inside North Korea, officers in the North were told to celebrate January 8 as one of the biggest national holidays with "a voluntary spirit of supporting General Jong Un".
While Kim Jong Un's designation as heir has long been predicted by southern intelligence reports and testimonials from northern defectors, undisputed evidence first surfaced in September when a Taiwanese photographer, Huang Hanming, posted on picture-sharing website Flickr.com a photo of a propaganda poster, which he took during his trip to the country, praising the "young general comrade Kim Jong Un", illustrating how North Koreans were encouraged to recognise Mr Kim as the legitimate heir. It was the first confirmed case of official propaganda including Kim Jong Un's name.
In an apparent show of solidarity, North Korea and China in the past have sent its new leaders to the other side for "approval". When Xi Jinping was promoted to vice president of China in 2008, in an apparent sign that he would become the next Chinese president in 2012, the first country Mr Xi visited in an official capacity was North Korea.
The two allies, however, also have their differences. China quietly yet firmly protested when Kim Il Sung picked his own son as heir, going against "socialist" country principles, though in the end China relented.
Mr Lu said China will endorse a new North Korean leader even though it will mean three generations of family succession, unprecedented in socialist countries.
"The heir issue is completely internal affairs of North Korea. North Korea thinks that having a son as the next leader is a better way of safeguarding the social stability and development," Mr Lu said. "China will of course respect North Korea's decisions."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
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THE SPECS
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Stuck in a job without a pay rise? Here's what to do
Chris Greaves, the managing director of Hays Gulf Region, says those without a pay rise for an extended period must start asking questions – both of themselves and their employer.
“First, are they happy with that or do they want more?” he says. “Job-seeking is a time-consuming, frustrating and long-winded affair so are they prepared to put themselves through that rigmarole? Before they consider that, they must ask their employer what is happening.”
Most employees bring up pay rise queries at their annual performance appraisal and find out what the company has in store for them from a career perspective.
Those with no formal appraisal system, Mr Greaves says, should ask HR or their line manager for an assessment.
“You want to find out how they value your contribution and where your job could go,” he says. “You’ve got to be brave enough to ask some questions and if you don’t like the answers then you have to develop a strategy or change jobs if you are prepared to go through the job-seeking process.”
For those that do reach the salary negotiation with their current employer, Mr Greaves says there is no point in asking for less than 5 per cent.
“However, this can only really have any chance of success if you can identify where you add value to the business (preferably you can put a monetary value on it), or you can point to a sustained contribution above the call of duty or to other achievements you think your employer will value.”
How I connect with my kids when working or travelling
Little notes: My girls often find a letter from me, with a joke, task or some instructions for the afternoon, and saying what I’m excited for when I get home.
Phone call check-in: My kids know that at 3.30pm I’ll be free for a quick chat.
Highs and lows: Instead of a “how was your day?”, at dinner or at bathtime we share three highlights; one thing that didn’t go so well; and something we’re looking forward to.
I start, you next: In the morning, I often start a little Lego project or drawing, and ask them to work on it while I’m gone, then we’ll finish it together.
Bedtime connection: Wake up and sleep time are important moments. A snuggle, some proud words, listening, a story. I can’t be there every night, but I can start the day with them.
Undivided attention: Putting the phone away when I get home often means sitting in the car to send a last email, but leaving it out of sight between home time and bedtime means you can connect properly.
Demystify, don’t demonise your job: Help them understand what you do, where and why. Show them your workplace if you can, then it’s not so abstract when you’re away - they’ll picture you there. Invite them into your “other” world so they know more about the different roles you have.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Almouneer
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
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Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
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TUESDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY
Centre Court
Starting at 2pm:
Elina Svitolina (UKR) [3] v Jennifer Brady (USA)
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) v Belinda Bencic (SUI [4]
Not before 7pm:
Sofia Kenin (USA) [5] v Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
Maria Sakkari (GRE) v Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) [7]
Court One
Starting at midday:
Karolina Muchova (CZE) v Katerina Siniakova (CZE)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Aliaksandra Sasnovich (BLR)
Veronika Kudermetova (RUS) v Dayana Yastermska (UKR)
Petra Martic (CRO) [8] v Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)
Sorana Cirstea (ROU) v Anett Kontaveit (EST)
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Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside
Top goalscorers in Europe
34 goals - Robert Lewandowski (68 points)
34 - Ciro Immobile (68)
31 - Cristiano Ronaldo (62)
28 - Timo Werner (56)
25 - Lionel Messi (50)
*29 - Erling Haaland (50)
23 - Romelu Lukaku (46)
23 - Jamie Vardy (46)
*NOTE: Haaland's goals for Salzburg count for 1.5 points per goal. Goals for Dortmund count for two points per goal.
box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Letstango.com
Started: June 2013
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Industry: e-commerce
Initial investment: Dh10 million
Investors: Self-funded
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First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
The specs
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Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6
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