BEIJING // North Korea told its people to take a day off to celebrate the birthday of the leader Kim Jong Il's youngest son on Friday, a move widely seen as another step towards solidifying a family succession of power, South Korean media outlets with sources inside the secretive country reported.
The Open Radio for North Korea, a website and broadcaster in Seoul, said the birthday of Kim Jong Un, who turned 27 on Friday, was designated a national holiday. On the same day, Daily NK, a South Korean media outlet whose reporters include North Korean defectors, also said the North declared a national holiday on January 8 to honour Mr Kim's birthday. Yesterday, South Korea's major newspaper, Donga Ilbo, cited a source inside North Korea as saying: "People were told to take a day off on the 8th without being given an explanation. But most people knew it's because of Jong Un's birthday."
South Korea's ministry of unification, the country's main arm to deal with North Korean affairs, said it could not confirm the reports.
North Korea watchers had been looking out for signs that national celebrations might be underway for the birthday of Mr Kim, the widely regarded heir designate.
In South Korea, where about 20,000 North Korean defectors reside, their network with North Koreans inside the secretive country sometimes brings news faster than the intelligence community.
Analysts said the reports that Mr Kim's birthday had been officially celebrated - and that this was a step towards succession - were believable.
"I think there is a certain level of credibility into those reports," said Yoo Ho-yeol, a North Korea specialist at Korea University in Seoul. "I am not sure whether the holiday was enforced on a national level or on a cadre level. Anyway, it's a way of laying down the ground work to create an environment conducive for the succession."
Others, however, were sceptical.
Lee Gee-dong, a specialist in North Korea's power hierarchy, said in order for Pyongyang to have officially celebrated Mr Kim's birthday, it would mean that the "core ruling elite" of the ruling Worker's Party would had to have already pledged their allegiance to him.
"I don't think it is at that stage now. We have yet to see the plenum. Besides, Jong Un doesn't have a confirmed official status within the Worker's Party," said Mr Lee, a senior fellow at South Korea's Institute for National Security Strategy, a government-run think tank.
Lu Chao, a Chinese expert on North Korea at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, located near the China-North Korea border, said: "I have yet to confirm [the celebration] as a fact. The matter doesn't seem to be very urgent for North Korea, contrary to what were reported by some media outlets.
"Everyone knows that [succession] is coming. But it's still at the initial stage."
Succession speculation has intensified since Kim Jong Il, 67, suffered a stroke in August 2008. The leader's apparent recovery is also a factor why North Korea is not in a hurry for the succession process, which it fears would undermine the current leader, Mr Lu said.
In general, however, analysts believe that North Korea has more or less completed the "top-down" task of promoting Kim Jong Un as his father's heir among the power elite and inside the government bureaucratic system. This year, they say, it will focus on the "bottom-top" propaganda campaign to give the appearance that Kim Jong Un is "approved" by people.
In North Korea, officially, the leader is not appointed by a political consultative process, but rather is "approved" by the people, to give the appearance that the country is a "people's republic". In reality, though, the leader, including the current leader, Kim Jong Il, is hand-picked by his predecessor. Mr Kim was the son of Kim Il Sung, the country's founder who is still revered as the "Great Leader". He died in 1994.
According to yesterday's report in the South Korean Donga Ilbo, citing a source inside North Korea, officers in the North were told to celebrate January 8 as one of the biggest national holidays with "a voluntary spirit of supporting General Jong Un".
While Kim Jong Un's designation as heir has long been predicted by southern intelligence reports and testimonials from northern defectors, undisputed evidence first surfaced in September when a Taiwanese photographer, Huang Hanming, posted on picture-sharing website Flickr.com a photo of a propaganda poster, which he took during his trip to the country, praising the "young general comrade Kim Jong Un", illustrating how North Koreans were encouraged to recognise Mr Kim as the legitimate heir. It was the first confirmed case of official propaganda including Kim Jong Un's name.
In an apparent show of solidarity, North Korea and China in the past have sent its new leaders to the other side for "approval". When Xi Jinping was promoted to vice president of China in 2008, in an apparent sign that he would become the next Chinese president in 2012, the first country Mr Xi visited in an official capacity was North Korea.
The two allies, however, also have their differences. China quietly yet firmly protested when Kim Il Sung picked his own son as heir, going against "socialist" country principles, though in the end China relented.
Mr Lu said China will endorse a new North Korean leader even though it will mean three generations of family succession, unprecedented in socialist countries.
"The heir issue is completely internal affairs of North Korea. North Korea thinks that having a son as the next leader is a better way of safeguarding the social stability and development," Mr Lu said. "China will of course respect North Korea's decisions."
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Juventus v Valencia, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
WWE TLC results
Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair
Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins
Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles
Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax
Rey Mysterio beat Randy Orton in a chairs match
Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre
Natalya beat Ruby Riott in a tables match
Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a TLC match
Sheamus and Cesaro retained the SmackDown Tag Titles against The Usos and New Day
R-Truth and Carmella won the Mixed Match Challenge by beating Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
More coverage from the Future Forum
Washmen Profile
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Champions parade (UAE timings)
7pm Gates open
8pm Deansgate stage showing starts
9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral
9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street
10pm City players on stage
11pm event ends
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
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How The Debt Panel's advice helped readers in 2019
December 11: 'My husband died, so what happens to the Dh240,000 he owes in the UAE?'
JL, a housewife from India, wrote to us about her husband, who died earlier this month. He left behind an outstanding loan of Dh240,000 and she was hoping to pay it off with an insurance policy he had taken out. She also wanted to recover some of her husband’s end-of-service liabilities to help support her and her son.
“I have no words to thank you for helping me out,” she wrote to The Debt Panel after receiving the panellists' comments. “The advice has given me an idea of the present status of the loan and how to take it up further. I will draft a letter and send it to the email ID on the bank’s website along with the death certificate. I hope and pray to find a way out of this.”
November 26: ‘I owe Dh100,000 because my employer has not paid me for a year’
SL, a financial services employee from India, left the UAE in June after quitting his job because his employer had not paid him since November 2018. He owes Dh103,800 on four debts and was told by the panellists he may be able to use the insolvency law to solve his issue.
SL thanked the panellists for their efforts. "Indeed, I have some clarity on the consequence of the case and the next steps to take regarding my situation," he says. "Hopefully, I will be able to provide a positive testimony soon."
October 15: 'I lost my job and left the UAE owing Dh71,000. Can I return?'
MS, an energy sector employee from South Africa, left the UAE in August after losing his Dh12,000 job. He was struggling to meet the repayments while securing a new position in the UAE and feared he would be detained if he returned. He has now secured a new job and will return to the Emirates this month.
“The insolvency law is indeed a relief to hear,” he says. "I will not apply for insolvency at this stage. I have been able to pay something towards my loan and credit card. As it stands, I only have a one-month deficit, which I will be able to recover by the end of December."
