north korea's state-run media say kim jong-il's third son kim jong un has been named vice chairman of the korean worker's party. the announcement suggests kim jong un has officially been chosen as kim jong-il's successor. the wednesday morning report says the decision was made at the conference of the workers party in a general meeting of the central commission, the party's leadership body. no images have been made public so far. members of the party's central military commission lead the korean people's army. 19 people, including kim jong-il have been chosen as members of the commission. kim jong un who was earlier given the title of four star general has been named vice chairman of the central military commission, a new post. 30 years ago when kim jong-il first appeared in public as the successor to his father, he was also chosen as a member of the central military commission. jim jiang ill's younger sister kim kyong hui has been named a member of the politic bureau and her husband jang song thaek is a candidate for a polit bureau post. they are expected to act as kim jong un's guar

no images of kim jong un have been made public so far. members of the party's central military commission lead the korean people's army. 19 people, including kim jong il, have been chosen as members of the commission. ♪ kim jong un, who was earlier given the title of four-star general, has been named vice chairman of the central military commission, a new post. 30 years ago, when kim jong il first appeared in public as the successor to his father, kim il song, he was also chosen as a member of the central military commission. kim jong il's younger sister, kim kyong hui, has been named as a member of the politburo and her husband jang song thaek has been chosen as a member of the central military commission and is a candidate for a plit boouro host. the couple is expected to act as kim jong un's guardians. kim jong un is to succeed his father as leader but little is known about him. even basic facts have long been shrouded in mystery. >> reporter: such things as the year of kim jong un's birth cannot be ascertained with certainty. it is wid

now little is known about kim jong-un, even basic facts about jong-un, who is likely to succeed his father as leader, have been long been shrouded in mystery. >> such things as the year of kim jong-un's birth cannot be acertained with certainty. it is widely thought that the heir apparent was born in 1983, but some experts suggest 1984 is the more likely year. in the late 1990s, kim jong-un studied in switzerland for several years. at school, he used the name pak un and it is said he identified himself as the son of the north korean ambassador to switzerland. one of his former classmates says he was polite and quick to learn the german language. kim jong-un apparently enjoyed playing basketball and dreamed of becoming a professional player. kim jong-un is said to have returned to pyongyang around 2000, and to have attended university in the north korean capital. no information has been available on his whereabouts since that time. there is speculation that kim jong-il has chosen jong-un to succeed him due to his son's leadership abilities and strong-mindedness. china's special envoy to the

> official media in north korea said the youngest son of kim jong-il has been given the rank as general. as the first time the name of kim jong-unas been published in north korea. this could be the start of a succession process, say analysts. kim jong-il's health was thought to be deteriorating. you'll find more of that and all the international news on line at bbc.com. we are also on facebook and twitter as well. thank you for watching. >> see the news unfold, get the globe and click to play video reports. go to bbc.com/news to experience the in-depth, expert reporting of "bbc world news" online. >> funding was made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. the john d. and catherine t. macarthur foundation. and union bank. >> union bank has put its global financial strength to work for a wide range of companies. what can we do for you? >> there is one stage that is the met and carnegie hall." >> o, that this too, too solid flesh -- >> it is the kennedy center. >> check, one, two. >> and a club in austin. >> it is closer than any seat in the house, no matter where you

. >>> north korean leader, kim jong il, has named his third son, kim jong un, as a four-star general. the official korean central news agency made the announcement early on tuesday. the opening day of the conference. it marks the first time that the son's name has ever gone public. kim jong un is also expected to be given a high ranking party post to succeed his father. the announcement said the leader's younger sister, kim yung he has also been promoted to a four-star general. she's considered to be a caretaker for the transfer of power. >>> japanese prime minister naoto kan said he's thinking of attending the asian europe meeting in belgium next week. seeking support of european countries over the maritime collision in the senkaku islands. speaking to reporters, kan said asean leaders and be be many european countries will be at the meeting and he thinks japan should be represented. >>> kan would meet leaders through bilateral talks on the sidelines of the two-day meeting starting monday. he would explain that there is no territorial dispute over the senkaku islands. chinese premier

kim jong il's sister who has just been made a general is there, but his son, kim jong un, is not. this is north korean television tonight. the extraordinary thing is that nearly two days after the opening of the main party conference there has still been no coverage of it on television. why not? here is the main south korean news agency. they are trying to work that out. the agency's political analyst does not believe the leader is too sick to be shown on television. he thinks it is just north korea's reluctance to give out information of any kind. when a television pictures of the leader's son, kim jong un? >> the north koreans know that the outside world thinks it is weird to have three generations of the same family running the country. that is why i think it will build his image up at home through a propaganda, and only when he is established as a leader in his own right will the present him to the outside world. >> the only official pictures to have come out of north korea since the party meeting closed show enthusiastic citizens through early on message. >> the party meeting

kim jong il -- kim jong-un has been given the rank of military general.his is one of the a few photographs of him. he is thought to be in his 20's. in any seat strong signs he is about to be anointed -- many see strong signs he is about to be anointed. from neighboring south korea, we have this report. in atm the train's coming you and immaculate john young central station to the choreographed uniformity -- immaculate pyongyang central station to be choreographed uniformity. these are the pictures that north korea was the world to say. the city getting ready for a very significant event indeed. the last major party gathering was it 1980, 30 years ago. that meeting saw kim jong-il appointed to the highest ranks of the party, confirming him as his father's successor. now he is frail, elderly, and on well. speculation is mounting that he is about to pull off the same trick by dramatically elevating his third and youngest son, kim jong-un, as the next jos and later. >> if he is anointed -- as the next and its leader. >> if he is anointed, [unintelligible] he

kim jong-il has been appointed as the force -- as a four-star general. many believe that the party is preparing to anoint thee a man named kim jong-un as his father's eventual successor. from the south korean capital of seoul, here is one of our correspondence. >> from the trains pulling into an immaculate pyongyang central station to the choreographed uniformity of the arriving delegates, it is clear that something is going on. these are pictures that north korea is off authoritarian rulers want the world to see, showing a city being prepared for a very significant event indeed. the last time a major party gathering was held was in 1980 -- 30 years ago. that meeting sok kim jong il appointed to the highest ranks of the party, -- saw kim jong-il appointed to the highest ranks of the party, confirming him as his father's successor. after years in charge, he is for real, the elderly, and on well. there is speculation that he is -- is frail, elderly, and unwell. there's speculation that he is about to do the same and appoint his son as his successor. kim jong-un has been given the rank of four-star general. >> there will be cries of joy in public in front of t

kim jong-il. and one of the few childhood of him,exthat exists there is his son, kim jong-un. >> just hours before the conference, he was promoted to the rank of four start military general. now we learn he has been made vice chairman of the military commission and a member of the central committee. there can now be little bill that he is the chosen successor. -- air can now be little doubt that he is the chosen successor. kim jong-il's sister is in attendance, having also just been promoted to the rank of military general. it is thought that she will guide her nephew of through the difficult power transition. the world will get its first real glimpse of a young man that has just been handed a weighty legacy. >> nigeria marks its years of independence this week with a country facing a defining presidential vote. democracy is gradually taking root in the country. a exertonal rulers is there enormous influence. >> this is one of the most powerful traditional rulers in nigeria. he was not elected by popular vote. the race is on here as politicians seek a popular mandate. it is the backing of them tha

kim jong il the dear leader took over. he's been looking frail of late. he has three sons kim jong- num and the youngest kim jong-un now called the young general. he'll be rivaled by the sister. she was also made a general today. her husband is regarded as a powerful political figure. in fact, some say her husband is better positioned to lead because of his relationship with the military. the country is afflicted with chronic food shortages and its nuclear weapons program condemns it to international isolation. >> brown: late today, north korea's official news agency reported kim jong oon was also named vice chairman of the central military commission of the ruling workers party. margaret warner takes the story from there. >> warner: for more on the apparent succession moves in north korea, we turn to kongdan katy oh, a korea specialist at the institute for defense analyses. she is the author of "the hidden people of north korea." and barbara demick, beijing bureau chief for the "los angeles times." she's the author of "nothing to envy: ordinary lives in north korea." welcome to you both. barbara, let me begin with

kim jong-un on -- kim jong-un has taken his place to succeed his father kim jong il. the reigning tour de france champion alberto contador is fighting to save his career after testing positive for a banned substance during this year's race. he said that it was a clear case of contamination caused by eating uncooked meat. and island economy was hailed as a european success story. today, it fears it to take the debt crisis to new depths. nearly 40 billion pounds is required to bail out banks. that is equivalent to a third of the entire economy. ireland has endured one round of austerity measures. there is another round. >> the scars from the property boom are all too visible. they serve as reminders for the reason of the banking crisis. they have thrown a dark cloud over the stability of the economy. the bailout cost could be as much as 30 billion pounds. another bank needs extra cash. the government may have to take a majority shareholding. the finance minister said that the bills were horrendous. today's action should draw a line under the taxpayer liability. >> the t

kim jong-il took over. he is called "the dear leader." now his son, kim jong-unwill take the soap opera into a third generation. he is a known officially as "the brilliant comrade." this is his inheritance -- grim, pover-stricken. it could be the start of slow change. there is one a immensely important player behind the scenes today and that is in china. the chinese are worried that north korea might simply implode with incalculable consequences for the entire region. they want north korea to reform itself, but they do not think the military are capable of doing that. if so, and that close, mysterious country across the river, the emergence of the heir leader's" son and could mean that change is under way for the family business. >> all landslide in cells was mexico buried hundreds of houses and at least seven people have been confirmed killed. it buried the houses of people as they slept. rescue workers are struggling to reach the scene hours after the disaster. the government in its southern nigeria -- 15 schoolchildren were seized when their bus was hijacked o

. >> this is the only photo of kim jong-un , taken two decades ago. almost nothing is known about him except that he comes from are ruthless and powerful bloodline. kim il-sung and his son, kim jong il, are the only two leaders of north korea has ever known. kim jong-il had a very long and public grooming for power, seen as the only possible successor for his godlike father. the leadership cold could easily pass at you another generation -- cult could easily pass to another generation. the talk is once again of succession, but this time it needs to be organized in more haste. and with the added problem, many suggest, that none of his three known as suns appear to be promising leaders. the first, kim jong nam, was at once caught trying to enter japan with a false passport, trying to visit tokyo's disneyland. the second son, kim jong chul, is reportedly considered too thin and then by his father. that leaves the third son, perhaps soon to be in charge of a fledgling nuclear power. political successions in totalitarian states are always fraught with diffi

it is not clear, however, if kim jong un accompanied his father to china. >> we're now joined by our beijing correspondent. what significance did kim's visit have for china and north korea? >> the official reason for the visit was that kim was invited by president hu. but it's obvious that the north wanted the visit to take place at this time. now this is because accelerated moves are expected at the upcoming meeting of the workers party to establish kim jong un as his father's successor. it's worth noting that north korea selected northeastern china as the destination for kim's visit just before this important meeting. many sites are associated with kim's late father, kim il sung. they include a junior high school where he is said to have begun his revolutionary activities. we can see that by visiting these sacred places for the north koreans, kim is trying to justify his son's succession. needless to say, the chinese side was fully aware of kim's intention, and accepted the visit. >> well, it's been reported that hu and kim discussed a resumption of the six-party talks. do you think

convention of the ruling a workers' party sitting with other leaders near his father kim jong il this week kim jong un was awarded top political and military positions and was given the rank of a four star general and seen as a part of the plan to extend the kim dynasty in the reclusive communist state to a third generation. a landslide in southern mexico has left at least twelve people dead more than a dozen others are missing and some houses are completely destroyed blocked roads in the area making it difficult for rescue teams to search for survivors it follows tropical storms which battered the country's eastern and southern regions last month. the u.s. government has blacklisted iranian officials for alleged human rights violation that the sanctions freeze the american assets of eight men including the revolutionary guard head and bars them from getting u.s. visas the movies are due to their alleged roles in a crackdown on opposition supporters are to last year's presidential election a step increases pressure on the islamic republic as tensions rise over its nuclear ambitions. well this year has

conference to name leader kim jong il successor remains shrouded in mystery thousands celebrated founding day by placing flowers at the base of a statue of founding leader kim jong un is littered with posters announcing the workers' party meeting the exact details are sketchy it's expected that congenial as youngest son kim jong un will be appointed to a key party position paving the way for his eventual succession. hundreds of afghans have demonstrated against plans by an american pastor to burn copies of a car around in the september of the nine eleven attacks protesters set fire to flags and changing death to america there's been widespread anger from many muslim countries u.s. president barack obama has called on reverend terry jones to cancel the event saying the act would be a recruitment bonanza for al qaeda the florida vent has been criticized by political leaders worldwide. and the u.s. navy has delayed its plans to move more than eight thousand u.s. marines from their military base on the japanese island of okinawa the u.s. presence there is a bone of contention with some locals after a number of high profile incidents as artie's sean thomas reports. sinc

now north korean leader kim jong il has promoted his youngest son kim jong un to the rank of general and what's seen as the first step of a power transition but it came before the country's ruling workers' party gallo's biggest convention in decades now official announcements that were made in the if you think fashion has been shrouded in mystery but of that even as oliver reports the practice isn't uncommon in north korea. in the first century everything is global and all kinds of information is available online but there remains a spot of mystery in the world wide web that is north korea now many are pretty trade secrets. like the legal exception of steve was one of you to visit the place and hopefully we'll share his impressions a alex so tell me you were in my gang what's it like what's your biggest impression be honest with you when i was going there i felt a little nervous having read all the stories about north korea in the western media that it's scary place it's a different sort of scary things when i arrived there i thought it was nothing like that but the one thing which o

are some of your taj headlines this morning -- north korean state media reports kim jong-il has appointed his son kim jong un. the promotion came just hours before a rare party ruling meeting to elect top leadership. this to elect its top leadership. >>> chilean president hugo chavez says his country is carrying out initial studies for carrying out a nuclear program. chavez brought the issue up during a news conference monday saying venezuela needs nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. >>> in georgia last night a prisoner who tried to kill himself last week by slashing his arms and throat was executed. 30-year-old brannon rhodes was put to death for killing three people in a burglary back in 2000. >>> a dallas judge has overturned the 1993 conviction of a deaf man sent to prison for raping a 5-year-old girl, despite a lack of physical evidence linking him to the attack. the 39-year-old, stephen broedy is expected to be released sometime today. >>> and the owner of the segway company is dead after falling off of a cliff riding one of the machines. the 62-year-old was testing a cross-country version of a segwa

now what we do know is that today kim jong un, the youngest son of kim jong-il, was appointed to the position of four-star general. now that's about all we do know about him. we think he's about 26 years old. we think he's studied in switzerland. we know very little about his personality. and in fact, the two photographs which we think are available of him, some people dispute whether, indeed, they are of him at all. now he's the youngest son, perhaps 26, perhaps 27. very little is known about him, about how he would rule korea. korea, don't forget, north korea, nuclear armed. but it's perhaps a measure of the desperation of the dear leader that, in fact, he is now pushing his son. of course, it doesn't say much about the state of his health either, savannah. >> that's for sure. >> ian williams. it seems that may be the case. thanks for your report this morning. >> we don't know -- i'm sure we will find out he's the world's greatest golfer like his father who gets nothing but holes in ones when he golfs. >>> the crisis in the classroom. how can america compete when our kids are falli

kim jong-un has taken his public place in line to succeed his father kim jong-il.e was seen at north korea's ruling workers party. isme like ialberto contador fighting to save his career after testing positive for a banned substance, clenbuterol. he says it is a clear case of contamination caused by eating uncooked meat. the irish economy was hailed as a european success story. but today, it may take the debt crisis to new depths. ireland has endured one round of austerity measures and there is more pain to come. >> for ireland, it was the big, unsettling unknown -- what would be the final total bill to fix their banks. today they got the answer -- 39 billion pounds. the irish government warned that if the banks were not spelled out, it would bring down the country and the prime minister made this appeal on television tonight. >> we have to confront the challenges that face us and let's do this as intelligently as possible, knowing that there are no soft options available and that we will be making sacrifices. >> on the streets of dublin, they were calling as black

and people that rubber stamp the decisions taken by kim jong-il and just ahead of that meeting today is the appointment of his youngest son, kim jong uns had no military experience. hard to see what experience he has had at all. the only thing we can say for sure about him is that we think he was in school in switzerland and we think he is about 28 years old. some reports depict him as being quite a fun-loving sort of guy that likes baseball, the nba and others say he's vindictive just like his father. even the photographs that purport to be of him, two photos have been circulated and it's disputed. some analysts here say that's not him at all. so, he is an enigma but the other thing we can say for sure is that his father, kim jong-il is a sick man. he had at least two strokes and the speculation that he may not have that long to live. so, he wants to keep, keep north korea in the family, if you like. but certainly, as far as the north koreans are concerned and neighbors and the west, this is not good news, thomas. >> kim jong un is a name we will be more familiar with. ian, thanks so much. >>> we turn our attention now back to educat

. >> i asked john just now, what do we know about kim jong-un? >> we do not know much. we do know from the sushi chefs of the family a few anecdotes that he might be more like his father then we would like. apparently during a basketball game between him and his brother, he lost so he dressed down the players for an hour afterwards, pointing up their mistakes. >> he has been made a four-star general. that much has been conferred. what does that say about where power resides in north korea? >> clearly the power resides with the the military. in addition, his aunt was also promoted. i will leave that she and her husband on the national defense commission will behave as overseers as he takes power. i do not think that he will take power for the next five or 10 years, as long as his father's health holds out they will keep him in a grooming position. >> you are painting and interesting, complicated picture that is a melding of the dynasty with the military. >> i think that one of the things that we saw when kim jong il our was two ways of assimilation. the first was the inh

. >>> north korean state media reports kim jong il has appointed his son, kim jong-un. promotion came just hours before a rare party ruling meeting to elect top leadership. >>> venezuela had the hugo chavez says his government is carrying out initial studies into starting a nuclear energy program. chavez, a close ally of iran and defended their nuclear program, brought the issue up during a news conference monday saying venezuela needs nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. >>> in georgia last night, a prisoner who tried to kill himself last week by slashing his arms and throat was executed. 31-year-old brandon joseph rode was put to death for killing three people in a burglary back in 2000. >>> a dallas judge has overturned the 1993 conviction of a death man who was sent to prison for the rape of a 5-year-old girl, despite lack of evidence linking him to the attack. 30-year-old steven brody is expected to be released sometime today. >>> and the multimillionaire owner of the segway company is dead after apparently falling off a cliff when riding one of the two machines.

. >>> north korea's kim jong-il made his youngest son, kim jong-un a four-star general this morning, a move many say he is confirmation to be groomed as succeeder to his old moon. it came hours after the start of a rare ruling party meeting to elect top leadership. at that gathering, kim jong-il was also expected to appoint other family members to top posts as part of plans to take the communist dynasty into a third generation. >>> a crazy and sad story as the multimillionaire owner of the segway scooter company is dead. apparently after falling off a cliff while riding a segway. those are those two-wheeled electric scooters. priss say the 62-year-old was testing a cross-country version of the self-balancing segway near his estate in england sunday when he lost control of it. what are the odds? the owner of the segway company dying in a segway accident. terrible. let's look now at the markets as we get all up in your business. steve sedgwick is live in london. good morning, steve. >> reporter: very good to see you today. once again we're hoping m & a activity can lift the market. the

kim's youngest son, kim jong-un, is seen as the most likely candidate to succeed his father. attention is focused on whether he will be given a top executive post at the meeting. north korea's state-run media have reported that regional representatives are arriving in pyongyang to take part in the conference, but they haven't reported the exact start date. >>> the mmander of the u.s. pacific fleet says he is wary of north korea's moves toward the eventual transfer of power from leader kim jong-il to one of his sons. admiral patrick walsh told reporters in tokyo on wednesday that the u.s. navy should expect instability with any sort of succession planned by the north. >> history has proven that in the case of dealing with succession in north korea that it is an unstable period. we should be alert to that and then we should have our forces ready for any sort of incidents. >> he also suggested that the u.s. and south korean militaries will need to reschedule a joint anti-submarine drill in the yellow sea. the drill, which was scheduled to begin on sunday, has been delayed due to

uncle in law i should say jiang song was married to kim jong il's younger sister what would he do with the really the regent or would kim kim jong un like to get rid of him incidentally i should add that john was not the only one who was promoted today there were there were five others who were promoted the most important in the family and his family the younger sister a woman sixty four years old all right all in the family kim and perpetuating the dynasty ok victor fine go to you. you're the neighbor china is the neighbor and has the closest relations with with north korea. do you do you think the chinese leadership is given a heads up for a pretty clear heads up of what was going to happen this transition process because north korea if it likes it or not self-reliance or not is very reliant on china. well first of all i think the announcement coming out of pyongyang today is not surprising because the rumors have already been spreading for quite some time now the official chinese position about this changes in senior leadership positions in north korea will be that it is purely internal affair of north korea and china will respe

party gathers for its biggest convention in decades ahead of their key meeting kim jong il has promoted his youngest son kim jong un to the rank of general which is seen as the first step of a power transition no official announcements were made concerning the move and it's been shrouded in mystery as ati's country now is out of a reports that is rather common in north korea. first century everything is global and all kinds of information is available online but there remains is a lot of mystery in the world wide web and not just north korea not many are privy trade secrets like ross my family galaxy the chefs he was one of you to visit the place and hopefully will share his impressions a alex so tell me you were in a gang what's it like what's your biggest impression be honest with you when i was going there i felt a little nervous having read all the stories about north korea in the west media that it's a scary place it's all to different sort of scary things when i arrived there i thought it was nothing like that but the one thing which rescue the most of the first days and first hours being of going on is i saw