North Korea's Kim Jong Il made his elusive youngest son a four-star general in a major promotion seen Tuesday as confirmation that he is slated to become the country's next leader. 
 
 In this image made from 1980 file television footage, delegates gather at the Workers' Party of Korea convention, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The ruling Workers' Party held a historic political convention... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this 1966 image made from file television footage, delegates clap at North Korea's Congress of Workers' Party of Korea, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The ruling Workers' Party held a historic political... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this image made from 1980 file television footage, then North Korean leader Kim Il Sung addresses delegates at the Workers' Party of Korea convention, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The ruling Workers'... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this photo released by Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service, delegates to the ruling Worker's Party meeting make their way upon arriving at Pyongyang station, North Korea, on Monday Sept.... (Associated Press) 
 
 In this image made from 1980 file television footage, Kim Jong Il applauds while attending the Workers' Party of Korea convention, in Pyongyang, North Korea. The official Korean Central News Agency announced... (Associated Press) 
 
 The announcement appeared in state media hours before a historic Workers' Party meeting Tuesday where Kim, 68 and apparently in deteriorating health, was expected to grant son Kim Jong Un and other family members top posts in plans to take the communist dynasty into a third generation. 
 
 The North Korean capital was in a festive mood, with banners and placards celebrating the meeting, the communist country's biggest political gathering in 30 years. 
 
 It was state media's first mention of Kim Jong Un, who has remained so well hidden from the outside world that not even his face or exact age can be confirmed. He is believed to be 27 or 28, and is said to have been schooled in Switzerland and educated at Kim Il Sung Military University in Pyongyang. 
 
 However, it is clear that "Kim Jong Un's promotion is the starting point for his formal succession to power," said Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University. 
 
 "It's clearly the biggest news we've had from North Korea since the death of Kim Il Sung," said Peter Beck, a Council on Foreign Relations-Hitachi research fellow at Keio University in Tokyo. 
 
 "I think it clearly demonstrates that Kim Jong Il is committed to maintaining control of the country within his family," he said. 
 
 The appointment also appears aimed at putting the son at the helm of his father's "songun," or military-first, policy. He is expected to take up other top military jobs such as commander of the 1.2 million-member military, analyst Cheong Seong-chang of the private Sejong Institute think tank said. 
 
 The secrecy surrounding the succession process is typical of the communist country, and reminiscent of Kim Jong Il's own rise to power. 
 
 Kim Jong Il was 31 when he won the No. 2 post in the ruling Workers' Party in 1973, an appointment seen as a key step in the path to succeeding his father, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. 
 
 The following year, Kim was formally tapped as the future leader but state media did not reveal that to the outside world until the landmark 1980 convention, the last big political meeting in North Korea. 
 
 He took over as leader in 1994 when his father died of heart failure in what was communism's first hereditary succession. 
 
 It's not known what kind of party position Kim Jong Un might be granted. Some predict he'll win the same post his father took 37 years ago: party secretary authorized to supervise party members and appoint top party, government and military officials. 
 
 However, the younger Kim may not have the benefit of 20 years of training like his father. 
 
 Kim Jong Il, said to be suffering from diabetes and a kidney ailment, reportedly had a stroke in August 2008, sparking fears about instability and a possible power struggle in the nuclear-armed country if he were to die without anointing a successor. 
 
 Kim has two other sons but the youngest is said to be his favorite. 
 
 However, with Kim Jong Un still in his 20s and politically inexperienced, Kim Jong Il may tap his sister to oversee an eventually transfer of power, experts say. 
 
 Sister Kim Kyong Hui, 64, was among six people promoted to general along with Kim Jong Un, and her name was listed ahead of Kim Jong Un's in the Korean Central News Agency report. 
 
 "There is a possibility that she could play the role of a coordinator to make sure the power succession goes smoothly," analyst Cheong said. 
 
 She and her husband, Jang Song Thaek, appointed vice chairman of the all-powerful National Defense Commission in June, also are expected to win key political appointments that would allow them to act as advisers to the young Kim during his rise to power. 
 
 In a brief announcement Tuesday, a North Korean news reader said "crucial developments" were taking place at the political convention under way in Pyongyang and that Kim Jong Il was re-elected to the party's top position of general secretary to delegates' cheers of "Hurrah." 
 
 "His re-election is an expression of absolute support and trust of all the party members, the servicepersons and the people in Kim Jong Il," KCNA said, calling it a "historic" event. 
 
 The convention, initially set for early September, appears to have been delayed by several weeks amid speculation that Kim's health or damage from flooding and typhoons may have forced the postponement. 
 
 "This meeting of the delegates is an important occasion for further strengthening the solidarity of our army, our party, and our people, who are rallying behind the great Gen. Kim Jong Il," Kim Chang Gyong, an assistant professor at North Korea's Academy of Social Sciences, told broadcaster APTN. 
 
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 Associated Press writers Kelly Olsen, Kwang-tae Kim and Jean H. Lee contributed to this report. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Footage from the conference was aired on state-run TV 
 
 North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's youngest son, Kim Jong-un, has been appointed a general, amid rumours he is being anointed as successor. 
 
 State television said the elder Kim had been re-elected as leader, at the start of a meeting of the ruling party. 
 
 The Workers' Party has not met for decades and observers believe Kim Jong-il may be cementing the family dynasty. 
 
 The succession is being closely watched because of the North's nuclear programme and hostility with the South. 
 
 Kim Jong-il and the handover of power Aged 68, Kim Jong-il is said to be frail 
 
 Groomed as successor to father, Kim Il-sung, from mid-1970s 
 
 Given military role and position in Workers' Party secretariat in 1980 
 
 Finally became leader in 1994 on father's death Guide: Secretive 'first family' 
 
 Lack of experience 
 
 The announcement about Kim Jong-un is his first mention by name in state media and is reminiscent of his father's rise to prominence which began in the mid-1970s. 
 
 Little is known of him other than that he was educated in Switzerland and is around 27 years of age. 
 
 He is being elevated to the post of four-star general without military experience and despite being Kim Jong-il's third and youngest son. 
 
 His elder brother and half-brother appear to have been ruled out of the running for the succession. 
 
 The state television announcer was quoted as saying that his father had been reappointed as general secretary of the Workers' Party as an "expression of absolute support and trust". 
 
 She said a "crucial" development was under way but gave no further details. 
 
 The state news agency said the leader had been re-appointed with "the unanimous will and wishes" of North Koreans. 
 
 The statement described Kim Jong-il's "immortal exploits" and said they would "shine long in the history of the country" as he developed the ruling party of his late father, Kim Il Sung. 
 
 Kim Jong-il's sister, Kyong-hui, has also been named a four-star general, announced the state-run Korean Central News Agency. Kyong-hui is married to Chang Song-taek, seen by some analysts as North Korea's second-most powerful leader. 
 
 A long-time aide to the Kim family, Choe Ryong-Hae, was also appointed a general. 
 
 Ill health 
 
 Analysis With Kim Jong-il visibly frail and sick, speculation has been mounting that this meeting is designed to officially anoint Kim Jong-un as his chosen successor. The theory is given added weight because Kim Jong-il himself was anointed in this way by his own father, the country's first and now "eternal" president, during the last major party event in 1980. If Kim Jong-un is now given a senior party position to complement his newly-bestowed military rank it will be a strong sign that the authoritarian state really does intend to continue its quasi-religious leadership cult for another generation. Final confirmation would come if the enigmatic young man's portrait appears alongside that of his father and grandfather in every home and workplace. Will Kim name successor? 
 
 Kim Jong-il, 68, is reported to be suffering from several illnesses. He is believed to have had a stroke two years ago, and has travelled to China for treatment. 
 
 Neither Pyongyang nor Beijing have publicly commented on rumours surrounding his health. 
 
 A US official said it was too soon to tell what was happening inside North Korea's leadership, but the United States was watching developments "carefully". 
 
 Reports from South Korea on Monday suggested that the military had nominated Kim Jong-un as a delegate for the conference. 
 
 The Chosun Ilbo newspaper quoted an unnamed North Korean source as saying a propaganda campaign had already begun to raise Kim Jong-un's profile. 
 
 Rumours emerged last year from the secretive state that he was his father's chosen successor. 
 
 Analysts say taking over his father's job would be a huge task for someone with so little experience. 
 
 'Eternal president' 
 
 Images released by the North's state media on Monday showed orderly lines of delegates - some wearing suits, others in military uniform - arriving in Pyongyang. 
 
 The Associated Press reported that the capital was decorated with flags and placards announcing the meeting. 
 
 One poster read: "Warm congratulations to the representatives meeting of the Workers Party of Korea." 
 
 KCNA reported that party delegates visited the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang on Monday to pay respects to North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, father of Kim Jong-il. 
 
 Kim Il-sung is known as the "eternal president", while Kim Jong-il has styled himself the "dear leader". 
 
 Kim Jong-il became leader when his father died in 1994. 
 
 Under Kim Jong-il, the country's isolation from the outside world has become entrenched. 
 
 Mr Kim has built up a personality cult around his family, while North Korea's economy has all but ceased to function and its people suffer from frequent food shortages. ||||| Image copyright Reuters Image caption Kim Jong-un has received numerous official titles since becoming North Korea's leader 
 
 Kim Jong-un took on the mantle of North Korea's supreme leadership with little political or military experience behind him. 
 
 Kim Jong-il, North Korea's "Dear Leader", was in the process of grooming him as his successor when he died in December 2011. 
 
 Immediately after his father's death, the younger Kim was hailed as "the great successor". He was named head of the party, state and army within a fortnight of his father's death. 
 
 Since then, he has shown he is committed to the advancement of North Korea's weapons programme, ordering four nuclear tests and several missile tests. 
 
 He has also shown himself to be ruthless with the purge of his powerful uncle and the murder, widely attributed to an order from him, of his half-brother. 
 
 'Morning Star King' 
 
 Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of Kim Jong-il and his third wife Ko Yong-hui, was born in 1983 or 1984. 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption The undated image shows Kim Jong-un as a student in Switzerland 
 
 He was initially not thought to be in the frame to take up his father's mantle. Analysts focused instead on his older half-brother Kim Jong-nam and older full brother Kim Jong-chol. 
 
 However Kim Jong-nam's deportation from Japan in May 2001 and middle brother Kim Jong-chol's reported "unmanliness" improved his chances. 
 
 Analysts saw him as the coming man after he was awarded a series of high-profile political posts. 
 
 Swiss-educated like his brothers, Kim Jong-un avoided Western influences, returning home when not in school and dining out with the North Korean ambassador. 
 
 After his return to Pyongyang, he is known to have attended the Kim Il-sung Military University. 
 
 His mother was thought to be Kim Jong-il's favourite wife, and she clearly doted on her son, reportedly calling him the "Morning Star King". 
 
 In August 2010, when Kim Jong-il visited China, one report said Kim Jong-un had accompanied his father on the trip. By then he was widely seen as the heir-apparent and when Kim Jong-il died, this was quickly confirmed. 
 
 Military-first 
 
 Mr Kim made his first public speech as North Korea marked the 100th anniversary of the birthday of founder Kim Il-sung on 15 April 2012, praising the "military first" doctrine and vowing the time his nation could be threatened was "forever over". 
 
 Image copyright KCNA Image caption State media showed Kim Jong-un in a celebratory mood following the launch of a ballistic missile in July 2017 
 
 Image copyright KCNA Image caption Factory inspections are the mainstay of the North Korean leader's domestic media appearances 
 
 Under him, the development of North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes has continued and appears to have made rapid strides. Four more nuclear tests have taken place, bringing the regime's total to six. 
 
 Pyongyang claims it has successfully tested a miniaturised hydrogen bomb that could be loaded on to a long-range missile, but experts remain divided on how advanced its programme is. 
 
 The reach of North Korea's missiles also appears to have increased. In 2017 the regime test-fired several missiles, and claimed it had tested intercontinental ballistic missiles that could reach the US - leading to a surge in tensions with the Donald Trump-led administration and an intensified UN sanctions regime. 
 
 As the animosity between the two sides rose, Mr Trump and Mr Kim engaged in an increasingly fiery war of words. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un: From enemies to frenemies? 
 
 Mr Trump called the North Korean leader a "rocket man on a suicide mission" while Mr Kim called the US leader a "mentally deranged US dotard". 
 
 Yet, unexpectedly, Mr Kim offered an olive branch to South Korea in his new year's address, saying he was "open to dialogue" and might send a team to the February 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. 
 
 A flurry of diplomatic activity followed, with the two Koreas marching under one flag in the Olympic opening ceremony, and high-level meetings taking place between the two sides. 
 
 Two milestone meetings have now been planned: a summit between Mr Kim and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in in late April, and a face to face meeting between Mr Kim and Mr Trump in May - the first of its kind between sitting US and North Korean leaders. 
 
 Ahead of the two summits, Mr Kim made his first known foreign trip as leader. He took a train to Beijing - North Korea's main ally and trading partner. 
 
 Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Chinese TV showed footage of the two leaders with their wives 
 
 In April, Kim Jong-un said he had suspended all missile tests and would shut down a nuclear test site, because his country had achieved "nuclear weaponisation". 
 
 Although the halt was welcomed internationally, observers pointed out that Pyongyang had not pledged to get rid of its existing weapons, and has previously broken promises to halt nuclear development. 
 
 Meet the Kims 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Mr Kim and Ms Ri are thought to have three children 
 
 Domestically, Mr Kim's repeated replacement of defence ministers - there have been at least six men in the post since 2011 - has been seen by some analysts as an indication of his lack of confidence in the loyalty of the armed forces. 
 
 And the most high-profile indication of a possible power struggle within the North Korean elite came in December 2013, when Kim Jong-un ordered the execution of his uncle Chang Song-thaek. State media said he had been plotting a coup. 
 
 Mr Kim is also widely believed to have ordered the murder of his exiled half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, in February 2017 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. 
 
 Not much was known of Mr Kim's personal life until television footage of an unidentified woman attending events with him surfaced. In July 2012, state media announced that Mr Kim was married to "Comrade Ri Sol-ju". 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption Kim Yo-jong, Mr Kim's sister, holds a senior post in the Workers' Party of Korea 
 
 Little is known of Ms Ri, but her stylish appearance led some analysts to suggest that she was from an upper-class family. Reports have suggested that Ms Ri may have been a singer who caught Mr Kim's attention during a performance. 
 
 According to South Korean intelligence, the couple have three children. 
 
 Mr Kim's sister, Kim Yo-jong, holds a senior post in the Workers' Party of Korea - and stole the limelight when she represented her brother at the Winter Olympics in the South. It is not known whether his elder brother, Kim Jong-chol, holds an official role.
– North Korea-watchers say Kim Jong Il has sent his clearest signal yet that he intends for his youngest son to lead the country after his death. State media announced the promotion of Kim Jong Un to four-star general today as the country's biggest political summit in 30 years began, the BBC reports. Dear Leader also made his sister a general, a move observers say suggests he feels his Swiss-educated son, believed to be around 27, needs a mentor. The younger Kim had never before been officially mentioned in North Korean state media. The promotion "is clearly the biggest news we've had from North Korea since the death of Kim Il Sung," a Council of Foreign Relations analyst tells the AP. "I think it clearly demonstrates that Kim Jong Il is committed to maintaining control of the country within his family."