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By Son Won-je, Staff Writer

In the wake of Kim Jong-il's death, the attention is focusing on North Korean National Defense Commission deputy chairman Jang Song-thaek

Jang is Workers' Party of Korea Central Military Commission vice chairman Kim Jong-un’s uncle. Kim Jong-un was named Kim Jong-il's designated successor as ruler of North Korea. Jang is also understood to have effectively directed the building of the succession framework for Kim Jong-un and the transmission of power under the authorization of Kim Jong-il since the late leader was struck by a cerebrovascular ailment in August 2008. Analysts said he is arguably the strongest support in the regime for the younger Kim, who suffers from a weak power base with less than three years of grooming for the North Korean leadership.

The major attention focusing on Jang from the outside also reflects harsh aspects of power. Already, observers are asking whether he will remain a mere sponsor for the new Kim Jong-un regime. Some are drawing parallels with Korean history, questioning whether Jang might not follow the path of the Joseon monarch Sejo, who as Grand Prince ousted his own nephew, the teenaged King Danjong.

Former US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill said Tuesday that Kim Jong-un does not yet have the authority to issue orders and make decisions independently, and that Jang was a rival as well as a mentor.

Understanding that Jang could rival Kim Jong-un for power stems from his prominent position within the new regime. Jang has heavy influence in all key areas of North Korean leadership, including the WPK, the military, and national security agencies. At the third WPK Representatives' Conference in Sept. 2010, he was appointed a member of the party's Central Military Commission and a candidate member of its Political Bureau. This came after he had ascended to the post of NDC vice chairman in June of that year, which in turn came fourteen months after he joined the NDC in April 2009. In 2007, he had taken over the position of chief of the WPK's Administration Department, overseeing the prosecutors, State Security Department, and Ministry of People's Security.

Among those viewed as key associates of Jang through various WPK channels are party secretaries Choi Ryong-hae and Mun Kyong-dok, who joined the core of the Kim Jong-un succession system with the Representatives' Congress, and Political Bureau candidate member and first State Security Department vice director U Dong-chuk. Jang also enjoys close relationships with prominent members of the military thanks to his older brother, the late former military vice marshal Chang Sung-u.

Jang's charisma, which is as strong as his position and connections, represents another factor leading observers to speculate on the possibilities that he may operate independently. A senior South Korean government official who met Jang in 2003 recalled, "When he spoke, even people far higher than him in the party hierarchy kept quiet." This was also a factor in his bitter experience of having his duties suspended in early 2004 for "factional activities based on a desire for power." At the time, he is known to have been branded a "man of ambition" by Kim Jong-il's wife Ko Young-hee, who was pushing to have one of her sons, Kim Jong-chol or Kim Jong-un, appointed as successor.

At the root of Jang's power is his wife, WPK light industry department chief Kim Kyong-hui. Jang enjoyed a rapid rise through the ranks after his 1972 marriage to Kim, the younger sister of Kim Jong-il, with appointments as the WPK's Three Revolution Team department chief in 1989 and first vice director of its organization and guidance department in 1995.

With Kim Jong-un, Kim Kyong-hui became one of the first civilians to be given the title of "general" and rose to become a Political Bureau member at the Representatives' Congress in September 2010.

Some observers say this very fact will serve as a check on Jang's ambitions. A South Korean government official said, "Jang may be an in-law in the Kim Il-sung family, but he's just a side branch who doesn't share blood with them."

"In a North Korean regime where a bloodline with Kim Il-sung determines the legitimacy of power, Jang doesn't stand a chance of becoming a 'King Sejo,'" the official added.

Sejong Institute senior researcher Chung Sung-jang said, "As someone with a lot of experience, Jang might take over part of government operations, but it is merely speculation to see him as capable of taking the place of Kim Jong-un, who already has his elite guard."

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]