It looks like Kim Jong-il has found someone to groom his son Kim Jong-un to become the next leader of North Korea:

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il put to rest this week any doubt about whom he sees as his second in command when he elevated his brother-in-law Jang Song-taek to a powerful military post, analysts said on Friday.

Kim, 67, was re-elected to his leadership post at parliament on Thursday but questions about his health, raised by a suspected stroke in August, remained. He cut a gaunt figure at the session and, his hair thinned and graying, walked with a limp onto stage.

By elevating the energetic and urbane Jang, 63, to the North’s seat of power called the National Defence Commission, Kim has set him up as a kingmaker, analysts said.

Jang, an economic specialist considered pragmatic and worldly, is seen as the most likely choice to take over should Kim suddenly pass away. He could also mentor one of Kim’s three known sons if he decides to groom them for succession.  [Reuters]

For people unfamiliar with key players in North Korea here is a graphic that provides a good run down of the people that surround Kim Jong-il:

The lifting of Jang to the National Defense Commission positionI think people can definitely take as a sign that Kim may still be quite sick and that the regime’s inner circle is preparing for the possible death of Kim Jong-il.  The appointing of Jang to such a high position is really no surprise considering his steady advancement in recent years after returning from a political purge that occurred in 2004:

Jang Song-taek

The Pyongyang regime has described Chang Song-taek, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s former right-hand man, as a “tree’’ that is now cut off, sources well-informed of the North’s power structure in Seoul said on Tuesday.

Chang, Kim’s brother-in-law and a confidant until purged in late 2004 for an alleged bid to enhance his power, was predicted to return to the Workers’ Party because the Dear Leader, 63, reportedly has a limited number of associates to rely on.  (…….)

The intended purge of Chang, 60, is allegedly a result of his efforts to promote Kim Hyong-nam, an illegitimate son of Kim Il-sung, the founding father of North Korea, as a contender to Kim Jong-il.

Kim Hyong-nam, 33, was adopted at birth by a sibling of Chang, according to a country report on North Korea by the Economist Intelligence Unit.  [NK Econ Watch]

Since his return in 2006 Jang has worked in the administrative department of the North Korean Worker’s Party before last year being give the important job of clamping down on corruption in border areas in North Korea and was recently put in charge of constructing a high profile housing project in Pyongyang that he was hoping to get South Korea to fund by exchanging South Korean POW’s for money.  The Korea Herald article that outlined this proposed deal this past December was already calling Jang “the most powerful man in North Korea”.  The Chosun Ilbo has been reporting for months that Jang was the head of a “collective leadership” running the country due to Kim’s illness.

Kim Jong-un

The fact that Kim brought Jang back shows how few people he actually trusts within North Korea.  Now the man that he once purged is going to be entrusted to prepare one of his son’s as the next leader of North Korea, which is reportedly supposed to be his youngest son Kim Jong-un.  However, Jang is supposed to be close with Kim Jong-il’s oldest son Kim Jong-nam, which may still give him a chance at regime leadership despite the appearance of him being out of the running.

Kim Jong-nam

With North Korea no one can really tell for sure what is going on, but one thing you can probably count on is that the next year should be interesting for all of us who follow affairs on the Korean peninsula.