ID :
21169
Thu, 09/25/2008 - 17:27
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/21169
The shortlink copeid
Kim Jong-il likely to attend Oct. 10 Workers' Party ceremony: NGO
WASHINGTON, Sept. 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il will likely appear in public at a ceremony in early October to celebrate the founding of the ruling Workers' Party and quell speculation about his health, a nongovernmental organization said Wednesday.
"We've heard (from North Koreans) that Chairman Kim Jong-il will appear at the
ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the foundation of the Workers' Party on
Oct. 10 as speculations abound abroad and North Korean people are concerned about
Chairman Kim's health," monk Pomnyun, chairman of Good Friends, said in a
statement released prior to his speech to the Nitze School of Advanced
International Studies here.
Kim, chairman of the North's National Defense Commission, which controls the
reclusive communist state's military as well as political and economic aspects,
is said to be recovering from major brain surgery, spawning concerns over a
possible power vacuum.
The North Korean leader has long suffered from diabetes and heart problems. The
death of his father, Kim Il-sung, in 1994 was reportedly from heart failure.
Pomnyun said Kim's suspected health problem has not yet created any unrest in the
North, noting that senior North Korean officials had been notified in advance of
Kim's absence from the Sept. 9 celebrations marking an anniversary of the founding
of the North Korean government.
Kim Jong-il "is in firm control of North Korea, and there is no sign of the core
of the North Korean leadership breaking up," he said. "Even in case of Chairman
Kim's absence, North Korea is capable of operating an emergency management
system to maintain its regime in the short term."
The monk, who has visited North Korea several times on humanitarian projects,
said none of Kim's three sons will be able to take over in a third-generation
dynastic transfer of power.
"A realistic ruling organization will likely emerge after Kim's death, as it is
difficult for any single man to exercise absolute power," he said, adding that
the ruling Workers' Party will play a key role in that because it controls the
military.
"We've heard (from North Koreans) that Chairman Kim Jong-il will appear at the
ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the foundation of the Workers' Party on
Oct. 10 as speculations abound abroad and North Korean people are concerned about
Chairman Kim's health," monk Pomnyun, chairman of Good Friends, said in a
statement released prior to his speech to the Nitze School of Advanced
International Studies here.
Kim, chairman of the North's National Defense Commission, which controls the
reclusive communist state's military as well as political and economic aspects,
is said to be recovering from major brain surgery, spawning concerns over a
possible power vacuum.
The North Korean leader has long suffered from diabetes and heart problems. The
death of his father, Kim Il-sung, in 1994 was reportedly from heart failure.
Pomnyun said Kim's suspected health problem has not yet created any unrest in the
North, noting that senior North Korean officials had been notified in advance of
Kim's absence from the Sept. 9 celebrations marking an anniversary of the founding
of the North Korean government.
Kim Jong-il "is in firm control of North Korea, and there is no sign of the core
of the North Korean leadership breaking up," he said. "Even in case of Chairman
Kim's absence, North Korea is capable of operating an emergency management
system to maintain its regime in the short term."
The monk, who has visited North Korea several times on humanitarian projects,
said none of Kim's three sons will be able to take over in a third-generation
dynastic transfer of power.
"A realistic ruling organization will likely emerge after Kim's death, as it is
difficult for any single man to exercise absolute power," he said, adding that
the ruling Workers' Party will play a key role in that because it controls the
military.
