ID :
204184
Mon, 08/29/2011 - 14:03
Auther :

N. Korea's heir apparent son on standby during Kim's trip to Russia, China


SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's heir apparent son, Kim Jong-un, appeared to have been on standby during his father's recent trip to Russia and China, a ruling party lawmaker said Monday, citing Seoul's spy agency.
The leader-in-waiting did not accompany his father on his trip to the North's neighbors and greeted the reclusive leader at the border upon returning from the trip over the weekend, according to media reports.
The junior Kim seemed to have been on standby as he refrained from official activities in Pyongyang, said Hwang Jin-ha, a lawmaker from the ruling Grand National Party.
Hwang made the comment to reporters after being briefed on North Korea by the National Intelligence Service at a closed-door session of the parliament's intelligence committee.
The intelligence agency did not give any further details.
The junior Kim, a four-star general and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the North's ruling Workers' Party, is being groomed to succeed his father as the country's next leader.
The succession, if made, would mark communism's second hereditary power transfer. The elder Kim inherited power from his father, the country's founder Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994.
entropy@yna.co.kr

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