North Korea has given official roles in the ruling Workers’ party to the third son of Kim Jong-il, the country’s ailing dictator, in effect guaranteeing his position as heir apparent.

Kim Jong-eun’s appointments in the party on Wednesday came the day after he was made a four-star general . The Kim family runs North Korea by divide and rule, playing the military off against the party, so it was important that the younger Kim received roles in both camps. The official KCNA news agency said the younger Kim had joined the central committee of the party in addition to becoming a vice-chairman of its central military commission. These appointments were made at the highest-level congress of the party for 30 years. Kim Jong-il received the party roles that identified him as his father’s successor at a similar meeting in 1980.

Although Kim Jong-eun’s party titles sound lofty, they actually appear to be working-level positions that will allow him to cut his teeth gradually in the party. The central committee stands below the politburo, where some analysts had expected Kim Jong-eun to get a role, as his father did early in the succession process. The central military commission is far less important than the national defence commission, the state’s most powerful institution. These second-tier posts could give the heir apparent a taste of the mechanics of running the state. His father learnt many of his skills running state propaganda, one of the most important jobs.