North Korea leader bans talk of successor

SEOUL - North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il has forbidden internal talk about his naming a successor to the world's only communist dynasty, saying speculation hurts his rule, a news agency has reported.

Kim has three known sons and analysts have been guessing for years which one will take over power. Outside speculation was particularly rife in October that Kim would use the 60th anniversary of the founding of the North's communist party to name his successor.

Kim reportedly issued a special order banning North Koreans from talking about his successor, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported citing unidentified sources.

In addition, Kim Jong-il ordered a division of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea to stop an education campaign that was idolising the mother of two of his children, Ko Yong-hi, who died last year, and ban the words of "Pyongyang's mother" when referring to her.

Kim told the division members to crack down on any talk about his family and punish offenders even with a life sentence, Yonhap reported.

The eldest of Kim's known sons, Kim Jong-nam, has apparently fallen into disfavour for trying to sneak into Japan on a false passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland a few years ago.

The other two, Jong-chol and Jong-un, are in their 20s and may be too young to be named leader-in-waiting, analysts speculated. Ko Yong-hi was the mother of these two sons.

At 63, Kim Jong-il is about the same age his father was in 1974 when he made his son secretary to the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.

Kim Jong-il took over the leadership in 1994 from his late father and state founder, Eternal President Kim Il-sung.

- REUTERS