Kim Jong-il visits northern province while Hyundai chief in Pyongyang

SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has inspected a naval
university in the country's northern town, state media said Wednesday, suggesting
Kim may have been out of town while the chief of South Korea's Hyundai Group is
in Pyongyang.

The early morning report by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) came as all
eyes were on Hyun Jung-eun, the group chairwoman, as she was visiting Pyongyang
to negotiate the release of a detained employee.
Hyun, initially scheduled to return home later in the day, extended her stay
until Thursday. The reason for the extension, announced by her company Tuesday
night, was not known, but it was widely believed she was waiting to be granted a
meeting with Kim.
The KCNA said Kim has inspected Kim Jong Suk Naval University in Hamhung, South
Hamghung Province in the country's north. The report did not say when the visit
was made, but it is believed to have been on Tuesday, considering the time the
report came out.
"The navy of the DPRK, a maritime country surrounded by seas on three sides, has
a particularly important role to play not only at present but in the future," Kim
was quoted as saying. The academy is named after his mother and wife of the
country's founder, Kim Il-sung.
Kim was accompanied by military top brass, such as Kim Yong-chun, Korean People's
Army (KPA) vice marshal and minister of the People's Armed Forces, Ri Yong-ho,
chief of the General Staff of the KPA, and Kim Jong-gak, first vice director of
the General Political Bureau of the KPA, the report said.
Hyun drove through the inter-Korean border on Monday at North Korea's invitation.
A Hyundai employee, only identified by his family name Yu, has been detained
incommunicado since late March on accusations of criticizing the North's
political system and trying to persuade a local woman to defect.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)