Kim Jong Il | featured news

North Korea's heir apparent Kim Jong Un has swiftly risen to power since being made a four-star general a year ago, but he is even more of an enigma than his late father was during 17 years of absolute power....

Mr. Kim had been grooming his third son, Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s, to be his successor, as his country struggled to fight widespread food shortages and international sanctions imposed for its nuclear weapons development.

This week saw what appeared to be a re-injection of warmth and energy in relations between two longtime ideological allies with a shared history of fighting side by side in war. No. Not that “special relationship” between the U.S. and U.K. That other one, between North Korea and China.

North Korea's claim of a new, highly sophisticated uranium enrichment facility could be a ploy to win concessions in nuclear talks or an attempt to bolster leader Kim Jong Il's apparent heir.

Secretive North Korea's leader-in-waiting, the youngest son of ailing ruler Kim Jong-il, took center stage during a massive military parade on Sunday, appearing live for the first time in public.

North Korea's increasingly reclusive leader, Kim Jong Il, put in a rare appearance at Arirang celebrations in Pyongyang Saturday, along with his youngest son, Kim Jong Un.

Youth is not considered an asset in the nation, where mandatory lectures have billed Kim Jong Eun, Kim Jong Il's twentysomething son, as a political breath of air. In a region where Confucian thinking about seniority still holds sway, where political life generally begins at 50, it isn’t easy to sell the public on a twentysomething who has never held a real job.

The Sept. 28 meeting could signal the formal designation of Kim Jong-il’s youngest son as his heir apparent.

The first congress in three decades of the ruling Workers Party is rumored to be imminent, suggesting that a succession is being prepared that will hand power to a third generation of the first family.

The two countries seemingly renew their vows as Communist brethren, with China's Hu Jintao promising to help develop his ally's economy and North Korea's leader expressing desire to resume nuclear talks. Chinese President Hu Jintao promised North Korean leader Kim Jong Il help in developing the North's economy while Kim spoke of his desire to restart talks on the nuclear program during a summit Friday in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun, the Chinese government said Monday.