KIM Jong Un, a son of top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Il, has been chosen into the leading echelon of the country's ruling party.

The official KCNA news agency reported early today that Kim Jong Un, the senior Kim's third and youngest son, was one of the two vice-chairmen of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) elected yesterday.

Kim Jong Il serves as chair of the 19-member commission, and Ri Yong Ho, chief of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army (KPA), as the other vice chairman, the KCNA quoted a decision of a plenary meeting of the WPK Central Committee.

One day before the appointments, Ri Yong Ho was bestowed the military rank of vice marshal, and Kim Jong Un that of general, a rank next to vice marshal and above colonel general.

Yesterday's plenary session was held after the 65-year-old party, which has led the country since its 1948 founding, elected earlier in the day the members and alternate members of the WPK Central Committee at a landmarkconference functioning as a temporary WPK national congress.

Prior to the election of the WPK Central Committee at the party conference, the third of its kind in the party's history and the first in 44 years, delegates from across the country adopted a proposal to rename Kim Jong Il as the party's general secretary.

In addition, the historicgathering made amendments to the WPK Charter, the KCNA reported.

• republic [ri´pʌblik] n.共和国；共和政体 (初中英语单词)
• agency [´eidʒənsi] n.代理商；机构；代理 (初中英语单词)
• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• conference [´kɔnfərəns] n.讨论(会)；会谈 (初中英语单词)
• election [i´lekʃən] n.选举；选择 (初中英语单词)
• addition [ə´diʃən] n.加；加法；附加物 (初中英语单词)
• charter [´tʃɑ:tə] n.许可证 vt.特许 (初中英语单词)
• senior [´si:niə] a.年长的 n.前辈 (高中英语单词)
• commission [kə´miʃən] n.委任(状) vt.委任 (高中英语单词)
• colonel [´kə:nəl] n.海(陆)军上校 (高中英语单词)
• session [´seʃən] n.会议；会期；(开庭)期 (高中英语单词)
• alternate [ɔ:l´tə:nit, ´ɔ:ltə:neit] a.交替的 v.轮流 (高中英语单词)
• temporary [´tempərəri] a.暂时的 n.临时工 (高中英语单词)
• historic [his´tɔrik] a.有历史意义的 (高中英语单词)
• marshal [´mɑ:ʃəl] n.(陆军)元帅 (英语四级单词)
• gathering [´gæðəriŋ] n.集会，聚集 (英语四级单词)
• landmark [´lændmɑ:k] n.界标；里程碑 (英语六级单词)