List of new N. Korean lawmakers to reveal clues about succession

SEOUL, Feb. 23 (Yonhap) -- North Korea will likely disclose the names of its new
lawmakers following the March 8 parliamentary elections, a Seoul spokesman said
Monday, which could provide a decisive clue about succession rumors surrounding
leader Kim Jong-il's third son.

The North's rubber-stamp parliament has no power, but membership in it is
believed to be an essential step toward joining the political elite in the
communist state.
Sources told Yonhap last week that the youngest of the leader's three sons, Kim
Jong-un, 26, has registered as a candidate for the upcoming election in a sign of
nascent succession process.
"The full list of the new deputies to the Supreme People's Assembly is usually
made public the day after the election," Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for Seoul's
Unification Ministry, said.
Among Kim Jong-il's three sons, none are officially known to hold political
posts. A lawmaker named Kim Jong-nam, the same name as the leader's 38-year-old
eldest son, appeared in the new assembly list in 1998 and 2003, but it is not
certain whether they are the same person.
Chances are they are different people, as Kim Jong-nam is a widely used name
among the North Korean elite, said Cheong Seong-chang, a leading analyst on North
Korean succession with the Sejong Institute, an independent think tank in Seoul.
Cheong and some other experts have been skeptical of whether the first son, born
out of wedlock, would be considered a legitimate heir.
In North Korea, those aged 17 and older can run in the parliamentary elections,
ministry officials say.
Pyongyang missed the important election last August amid reports that Kim
suffered a stroke that month. The North announced the date of the vote in
January.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)