*** TOPIC OF THE WEEK (Part 2)

North Korean Military Leader Jo Myong-rok Dies of Heart Disease

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- Jo Myong-rok, a top North Korean military official, died of chronic heart disease at the age of 82 on Nov. 6, the country's official news agency reported on Nov. 7.

   Jo, the first-vice chairman of North Korea's National Defense Commission, was one of the most powerful political and military figures loyal to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in the socialist country for decades. He also held the military rank of vice marshal.

   He was known for his landmark visit to the United States in October 2000, during which he met with then-President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as the Cold War foes sought reconciliation.

   Carrying Jo's lengthy obituary, the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that he died at 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 6 of "an inveterate heart disease."

   The North's media said the country has created a 170-member funeral committee to honor him, to be headed by Kim Jong-il. Senior officials of the Workers' Party, National Defense Commission, Supreme People's Assembly and the cabinet were chosen to join the committee.

   Kim's youngest son and heir apparent, Jong-un, was included in the committee, as well as Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, and Premier Choe Yong-rim.

   The KCNA described him as "a revolutionary comrade loyal to leader Kim Jong-il and a prominent activist of the Workers' Party of (North) Korea (WPK), the state and the army of the DPRK (North Korea), who devoted his whole life to the sacred struggle for the freedom and independence of the country and the victory of the cause of socialism."

   It added, "His death is a great loss to the party, the army and people of the DPRK waging a dynamic struggle to win the victory of the cause of building a thriving socialist nation and bring earlier the independent reunification of the country."

   Jo was elected as one of the five standing politburo members in September when the WPK held a rare conference of representatives across the country in September, in which it appointed leader Kim Jong-il's third and youngest son as one of two vice-chairmen of the ruling party's powerful Central Military Commission.

   The world regarded the emergence of the junior Kim as a clear sign of the formal start of the hereditary power transfer process.

   Jo was also vice marshal of the (North) Korean People's Army (KPA) and deputy to the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA), which is the North's parliament.

   Despite his age and health problems, Jo retained his post as the first vice chairman of the National Defense Commission and director general of the Politburo of the KPA during a reshuffle of the power elite in September. He was, however, removed from the WPK's Central Military Commission.

   Jo had conspicuously reduced his official activities since 2007, following reports that he suffered from kidney disease. Most recently, he appeared in a group picture with leader Kim Jong-il, his son and heir apparent Jong-un and other top-ranking leaders released in late September.

   Born in 1928, Jo's military career started in the Air Force. He fought in the Korean War as a pilot and after a promotion to Air Force commander was named director general of the KPA's Politburo for the first time in 1995.

   Three years later, he was appointed to first vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, rising to become the second-most powerful person under Kim Jong-il's military first, or songun, politics.

   Jo also accompanied Kim Jong-il to various key inter-Korean meetings, including the banquet for the historic 2000 summit between Kim and then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

   Signs of his deteriorating health were spotted since 2006 and his public activities diminished.

   On Nov. 8, Kim Jong-il, along with his heir-apparent son, visited the funeral home of the deceased military leader and expressed "bitter sorrow" over his death. The KCNA reported that the Kims visited the funeral home together with other members of the North's ruling elite.

   The leader "observed a moment's silence in memory of the deceased, and he looked round the bier with bitter sorrow over the loss of the dearest revolutionary comrade-in-arms and revolutionary comrade," the KCNA said. "Then, he met the bereaved families of the deceased and expressed profound condolences to them and warmly consoled them."

   With his death, vacancies have opened in the reclusive regime's key organizations.

   Jo's death could also pave the way for Kim's son to take the No. 2 spot in the socialist regime. On Nov. 7, the North mentioned the son's name ahead of all other senior officials' names while announcing the forming of a state funeral committee for Jo.

   The sequence -- placing Kim Jong-il's third son ahead of the Cabinet premier, the chief of general staff and the defense minister -- is the clearest signal yet that Kim Jong-un is officially in line to take over from his 68-year-old father.

   The announcement on the funeral committee raised speculation that Kim Jong-un may now take Jo's spot in the politburo of the ruling Workers' Party and even join the National Defense Commission. In late September, North Korea made it widely known that leader Kim would bequeath power to the son by making the junior Kim a four-star general and giving him top party posts.

   A state funeral service for Jo was held on Nov. 10 with the presence of main figures from the party, cabinet and the military as well as the bereaved families of the deceased.

   When a funeral procession carrying the coffin passed through the main streets of Pyongyang, tens of thousands of mourners paid their last respects to Jo, according to the KCNA report. He was buried at the Patriotic Martyrs Cemetery in Pyongyang.

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