ID :
48060
Fri, 02/27/2009 - 21:42
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/48060
The shortlink copeid
(LEAD) N. Korean leader more active this year than ever
SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il increased the number of his public visits three-fold this month from his average activities for February in recent years, Seoul officials said Friday.
Kim appeared publicly 15 times this month, compared to an average 5.3 visits he
made in February between 2000 and last year, said the Unification Ministry. This
year's figure was the highest since he took the rein of the country after his
father and North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's death in 1994.
The 67-year-old Kim dropped out of public view for weeks after his suspected
stroke in August. His absence from the important 60th anniversary of the
country's founding in September spurred rumors that he might be seriously ill.
But North Korean media started to release photos of Kim's public activities,
which were widely believed to be genuine, in October. His meeting with a visiting
Chinese party official in January largely set the health rumors to rest.
Seoul officials say Kim has considerably recovered and is now in full command.
Recent photos released by the state media showed him taking a puff on a cigarette
during a visit to a cigarette factory in what appeared to be a taste test.
Kim has been less active in February in recent years, with the whole nation
celebrating his Feb. 16 birthday. There were two large public visits during the
same month last year and three in 2007, compared to 11 in 2002.
The ministry said the majority of Kim's public activities this year was related
to the economy. Nine were to industrial facilities, compared to four visits to
military units and two to cultural and other events, it said.
Analysts believe Kim intends to show he is in full charge and in good health with
the increased activities. He may also want to reinvigorate the country's
important campaign to reconstruct its economy by 2012, the 100th anniversary of
Kim Il-sung's birth, they say.
"There must have been murmurs about his absence inside the country, however hard
his officials tried to control them. He wants to show he is well enough to run
the country," Cha Doo-hyeogn, an analyst with the Korea Institute for Defense
Analyses, said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
Kim appeared publicly 15 times this month, compared to an average 5.3 visits he
made in February between 2000 and last year, said the Unification Ministry. This
year's figure was the highest since he took the rein of the country after his
father and North Korean founder Kim Il-sung's death in 1994.
The 67-year-old Kim dropped out of public view for weeks after his suspected
stroke in August. His absence from the important 60th anniversary of the
country's founding in September spurred rumors that he might be seriously ill.
But North Korean media started to release photos of Kim's public activities,
which were widely believed to be genuine, in October. His meeting with a visiting
Chinese party official in January largely set the health rumors to rest.
Seoul officials say Kim has considerably recovered and is now in full command.
Recent photos released by the state media showed him taking a puff on a cigarette
during a visit to a cigarette factory in what appeared to be a taste test.
Kim has been less active in February in recent years, with the whole nation
celebrating his Feb. 16 birthday. There were two large public visits during the
same month last year and three in 2007, compared to 11 in 2002.
The ministry said the majority of Kim's public activities this year was related
to the economy. Nine were to industrial facilities, compared to four visits to
military units and two to cultural and other events, it said.
Analysts believe Kim intends to show he is in full charge and in good health with
the increased activities. He may also want to reinvigorate the country's
important campaign to reconstruct its economy by 2012, the 100th anniversary of
Kim Il-sung's birth, they say.
"There must have been murmurs about his absence inside the country, however hard
his officials tried to control them. He wants to show he is well enough to run
the country," Cha Doo-hyeogn, an analyst with the Korea Institute for Defense
Analyses, said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
