A North Korea watcher is predicting that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s third son Kim Jong-un will emerge on the front lines of power by being appointed to what is the de facto second position in the Workers' Party of Korea during the party representatives meeting scheduled for early September.

A research fellow at Sejong Institute Dr. Jeong Seong-jang predicted at a seminar on North Korea Tuesday that Jang Song-thaek, the vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, or Kim Kyung-hee, head of the light-industry division of the ruling Workers' Party, could be promoted. The two are playing central roles in preparing for Kim Jong-un’s succession.

A North Korean defector group quoted an inside source in North Korea that with Kim Jong-un’s imminent rise to power, there will be an overhaul of senior government positions in North Korea. The source said that the timing of such a move would be immediately after the representatives meeting.