[25 Jul 2006] 김정일이 죽는다면

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has reportedly taken his former secretary as a new wife after his purported spouse died of cancer in 2004.

The emergence of Kim's new wife is expected to give a new twist to a power struggle between his sons over who would succeed at the helm of the communist country.

"I heard Kim has been living together with a woman named Kim Ok, who served as his secretary, as Ko Yong-hi died two years ago," Yonhap News agency quoted a South Korean government source as saying.

She is the de-facto first lady of the North, according to the source.

South Korean officials have not confirmed the report.

Kim Ok, 42, has frequently accompanied the reclusive leader Kim, 64, on his visits to army bases and industrial complexes, and sat with him when he met visiting foreign dignitaries, the source said.

In January, the woman also traveled with Kim when he made a secret visit to China. During the tour, she was given a cordial reception as the North's first lady and exchanged civilities with Chinese leader Hu Jintao, he said.

Kim Ok studied piano at the North's prestigious Pyongyang University of Music and Dance, and began to serve as Kim's private secretary since the early 1980s, another South Korean government source said.

The notorious flirt, Kim, is widely believed to have had three wives, but only the second wife Kim Young-sook was regarded as his official wife. She has given Kim two daughters - Seol-song, 33, and Chun-song, 31.

It's not confirmed whether the new wife gave birth to a son, but sources said, her emergence would influence the selection of the North's next leader, pointing out her long experience in the political arena as Kim's secretary.

The sources especially note that public debates on Kim Jong-il's successor have dissipated in North Korea since Kim Ok became the leader's new wife.

The communist leader is believed to have already nominated a successor among his three sons from his two purported former wives. It has been reported that the three sons and their advocates were engaged in a fierce power struggle in recent years. The eldest son escaped two assassination attempts last year.

They said Kim Jong-il banned any debate on a succession nomination late last year, citing that the North's three-generation hereditary succession could trigger international derisions. They analyzed that the young lady could be behind the leader's new direction because Kim's early appointment of a successor may destabilize her status as the first lady.

Kim Jong-il took over from his father, Kim Il-sung in 1994. It was the North's first hereditary power transfer.

The 25-year-old son Kim Jong-chol, born to the late Ko Yong-hi, is widely favored to be first in line to succeed Kim Jong-il, but he has been said to suffer from a chronic overproduction of female hormones.

The oldest son Kim Jong-nam, 35, is believed to have fallen out of his father's favor when he was caught trying to enter Japan in 2001 on a forged passport. Jong-nam was born to Kim's first purported wife Sung Hae-rim, a former North Korean movie star, who died in 2002.

(davidpooh@heraldm.com)


By Jin Dae-woong

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The Korea Herald의 어제 기사다.


어제 저녁 영어수업시간에 위 기사를 읽은 후, Ross가 "김정일이 죽는다면 어떤 일이 벌어질 것 같은가" 하는 질문을 했다. 그 질문을 받고서야 든 생각은, I have not thought about North Korea after Jongil Kim's death.


Ross에 따르면 미국, 중국 및 일본 정부는 몇몇 시나리오에 따른 대비책을 이미 세워두고 있다고. 물론 우리 정부도 세워두곤 있겠지만, 직접적인 이해당사자라고 할 수 있는 우리 국민들도 이 점에 대해 한번쯤은 깊이 생각해 봤어야 하지 않나 싶었고, 나아가 난 한번도 생각해 본 적이 없다는 것을 깨닫고서는 조금 부끄러웠다.


김일성이 사망했을 시에야 북한 주민들에 있어서도 당황스러운 일이었을 테지만 그 당시 이미 김정일이 후계자로서 당연시 되는 분위기였기에 큰 문제는 없었던 것 같다. 그러나 김정일의 경우에는 아직 그 후계자가 확정되어 있지 않고, 또한 김일성의 사망을 경험한 북한 주민들은 김정일의 사망에 대해 그때만큼의 충격을 받지는 않을 것 같다. 문제는 그 권력의 공백을 누가 메울 것인가.. 아무래도 군부가 아닐까.. 그렇기 때문에 김정일이 죽기 전에 남북한이 함께 인정하는 unification에 대한 로드맵이라도 마련해 두어야 되지 않을까 싶다. 그런데 김정일은 벌써 65살이다.


또 한편, 만일 unification이 된다면, 어떤 상황이 벌어질 것인가..


Ross의 질문은 "만일 서울에 식량이 부족하고 취업을 할 수 없으나 춘천에는 식량이 풍부하고 취업의 기회가 보장된다면 서울에 있는 넌 어떻게 할 것인가?". 내 대답은 "춘천으로 간다".


마찬가지로 통일이 된다면 infrastructure가 상대적으로 잘 갖춰져 있는 남쪽으로 많은 사람들이 몰리겠지. 그러면 상상하지도 못할 많은 부작용이 발생할 것이고.. 이러한 일을 방지하기 위해서라도 북한의 economic status가 어느 정도 향상된 후 통일에 대한 실질적인 논의가 이루어져야 하지 않을까..


그러한 점을 고려하면 지난 김대중 정부시절부터 이어진 햇볕정책이 우리 정부가 취할 수 있는 올바른 선택이 아닐까 싶으며, 나아가 개성공단과 같은 자생력 있는 경제기반 확립을 위한 지원도 이러한 관점에서 이루어져야 하는 것이 아닐까 싶다. 물론 그러한 지원이 북한의 군부 등을 살찌우는데 흘러들어가는 것은 방지해야 겠지만, 통일을 대비하여 이 시점에서 기본적으로 우리 정부가 취할 수 있는, 아니 취해야 하는 자세는 적절한 대북지원이 아닐까 싶다.


문제는, 그 망할 북한의 군부다.. 무슨 미사일이냐, 이 시점에서. ㅡㅡ;