North Korean House of Cards

a. Kim Jong-il’s Will
In 2012, defector sources secured copies of Kim Jong-il’s last will and
testament. 129 He dictated his will to his daughter, Kim Sol-song, and shared it with
his sister and executor of the will, Kim Kyong-hui, in the months before his death. 130
In his will, Kim Jong-il outlined policy prescriptions that Kim Jong-un, his successor,
should adhere to. These prescriptions covered everything from domestic and foreign
policy to internal Kim family relations. Within the wishes Kim put forth for his
family, he stressed that Kim Jong-un should put his trust in Kim Kyong-hui and his
half-sister, Kim Sol-song. He also urged that Kim Jong-nam be left alone and not
targeted or harassed by the regime. Jang Song-taek is not mentioned, although the
will warns against sectarianism arising from powerful elements within the Party.
According to defector sources, Kim Jong-il held a series of private conversations
with his sister and executor of his will, Kim Kyong-hui. He warned her that
Jang’s continued presence at the pinnacle of power would eventually threaten Kim
family rule. While he apparently did not provide a deadline for dealing with Jang,
he noted that Jang would eventually become a second center of power if nothing
was done. This would not only undermine the Supreme Leader’s position, but could
also make the Kim family irrelevant within the wider leadership.
Thus, from the onset of the Kim Jong-un era, Jang Song-taek’s fate was not a
matter of if, but a matter of when. It did not take long for Kim Kyong-hui and Kim
Jong-un to become suspicious about Jang’s motivations.
b. Jang’s Ill-Fated Trip to China
On August 13, 2012, Jang Song-taek arrived in China on a hastily organized
trip. He was the highest ranking North Korean official to visit Beijing since Kim
Jong-il in May 2011, when Jang accompanied him. The official reason for the trip
was to attend the third session of the joint North Korea-China Guidance Committee
on the development and management of the Rajin-Sonbong economic and trade
zone and the Hwanggeumpyeong-Wihwa SEZ.
129 It should be stressed that at the time of this writing, analysis of various copies of the will is
still underway and debate continues over whether they are authentic.
130 Lee Yun-Keol, The Contents of Kim Jong-il’s Will: The Blueprint of Kim Jong-un’s Regime and
Possibility of Change (Seoul: NKSIS, 2012). One source of Kim Jong-il’s will is Lee Yun-Keol, a highprofile
North Korean defector and head of the NK Strategic Information Service Center (NKSIS), a
Seoul-based think tank. In April 2013, the author held interviews with NKSIS and other defector sources
on various aspects of the will.
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
54