(CNN) -- The youngest son of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was named vice chairman of the Workers Party of Korea's central military commission, North Korea's state news agency reported Tuesday.
Kim Jong Un, who is widely expected to be the successor to North Korea's "Dear Leader," was also named to the Central Committee of the party. Earlier, during the party conference, the younger Kim became a four-star general, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
The Korean Workers' Party last convened its delegates more than four decades ago.
Little is known about Kim Jong Un. Two photos of him consistently circulate in news reports outside of North Korea. That's because he's been kept off the radar by the North.
"They don't release the information, so no one can know," said Kang Cheol-hwan, a North Korea defector and activist. "When he was little, he studied in Bern (Switzerland), in a school for the elite. He got an international education".
Before Kim's promotion to general on Monday, North Korea's state-run media didn't mention him: There were no family photos showing him as a youngster and no images of him by his father's side, learning to lead.
He is Kim's third and youngest son. He's 27 or 28 years old.
CNN
