A Japanese daily says North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is most likely to choose his second son, Jong-chol, as his heir.

The Mainichi Shimbun said Saturday that it had confirmed through a number of sources close with North Korean government officials that Jong-chol was recently appointed to deputy head of the organizational leadership department in the North’s Workers’ Party. That post is considered to be one of the most important in the reclusive state.

According to the paper, Jong-chol had been working in that department for years and was recently appointed to the top post.

In particular, the report cited that Kim Jong-il had actively worked in the organizational leadership department before his father Kim Il-sung designated him as his successor to lead the communist nation in 1974.

The report also noted that Kim’s two other sons had not been appointed to any posts in the communist state’s ruling party.