UPDATE: Now Who Hangs With Kim Jong Il

So I know you have been waiting with baited breath for the second quarter Friends of Kim Jong Il list (First quarter list here), so here it goes.

Coming in at number one with the most reported public appearances with the Dear Leader in April, May and June is Kim Ki Nam with 25 recorded appearances. Kim Ki Nam, a Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, also held first place for the first quarter, with 25 appearances, and holds the number one spot for the first half, with 49.

Moving up two places from his first quarter finish to rank number two in the second quarter is none other than Kim Jong Il’s brother-in-law and now member of the National Defense Commission, Jang Song Thaek, with 23 appearances. This also puts him in the number two spot for the first half, with a total of 42 reported sightings with Kim Jong Il.

Holding steady at third place for both the second and first quarters of 2009 is General Hyon Chol Hae, with 18 appearances (down two from his first quarter 20). Hyon holds the third place spot (tied) for the first half as well, with 38 total appearances.

Fourth place for the second quarter is a tie between General Ri Myong Su and Pak Nam Gi, department director of the WPK Central Committee, both with 16 appearances for the quarter. Ri has risen one place from his first quarter performance, but Pak has fallen from his number two spot last quarter. For the first half, Pak is tied for third with Hyon Chol Hae at 38 appearances, while Ri takes fifth with 31.

Coming in sixth is a new face in the top ranks for this year, Choe Ik Gyu, department director of the Central Committee of the WPK, with 10 appearances, a substantial jump from his single appearance in the first quarter. This gives him the ninth place ranking for the first half.

Seventh place is also another newcomer to the top of the list, KPA Colonel General Kim Won Hong, with eight appearances for the second quarter, compared to just one in the first. This leaves him outside the rankings of the top ten for the half, however.

In eighth place for the second quarter in a row is Kim Jong Gak, with just 6 appearances in the second quarter for a total of 12 in the first half, giving him an eighth place rank for the half as well.

Tied for ninth place for the second quarter are Kim Yang Gon, department director of the WPK Central Committee, and KPA Vice Marshal Kim Yong Chun, both with 5 appearances for the quarter, equal to each of their five appearances in the first quarter, leaving both tied for tenth place for the half (with Ri Je Gang, first vice department director of the WPK Central Committee).

Two strong performers for the half, who nevertheless had fairly weak showings in the second quarter, were KPA General Kim Myong Guk with 15 for the half, and first vice department director of the C.C. of the WPK Ri Jae Il, with 14 for the half.