ID :
75015
Wed, 08/12/2009 - 20:51
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/75015
The shortlink copeid
N. Korean leader watches play, no signs of meeting with Hyundai chief
SEOUL, Aug. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has watched a play with soldiers in a northern town, the North's media said Wednesday, suggesting Kim may not have been in Pyongyang while the chief of South Korea's Hyundai Group was visiting North Korea.
The Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported that Kim watched "A Guard
Beneath a Neon Lantern" with soldiers at a theater in Hamhung, South Hamgkyong
Province.
Earlier in the day, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also reported
that Kim has inspected Kim Jong Suk Naval University in the same city. The
earlier report did not say when the visit was made, but it was believed to have
been on Tuesday, considering the timing of the report.
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.
The military officials were also reported to have accompanied Kim during the
naval university inspection.
The play, originally produced in China in the 1960s, was "highly praised" by Kim,
the KCNA said in a separate report, adding that Kim ordered the country's
national theater group to perform the play again this year, which was designated
as a year of friendship between North Korea and China.
"It is our party and our people's unchanging will to further develop the North
Korea-China friendship, which has been made over a long period of time," Kim was
quoted as saying.
The two reports came as all eyes were on Hyun Jung-eun, the group chairwoman, as
she was visiting North Korea to negotiate the release of a detained employee.
Hyun drove through the inter-Korean border Monday at the invitation of North
Korea. A Hyundai employee, identified only by his family name of 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.
Sources in Seoul said Hyun appeared to be staying at the Paekhwawon State Guest
House in Pyongyang, North Korea's highest-level guest house where Clinton stayed
and dined with Kim, but it was unclear at the moment.
The latest report on Kim's whereabouts did not include a time element, but
suggested the leader was most likely outside Pyongyang as of Wednesday evening.
"I can't be 100 percent sure, but Kim currently seems to be in Hanhung,
considering the two consecutive reports of his visit there," said Chun Hae-sung,
spokesman for Seoul's Unification Ministry.
The Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported that Kim watched "A Guard
Beneath a Neon Lantern" with soldiers at a theater in Hamhung, South Hamgkyong
Province.
Earlier in the day, the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also reported
that Kim has inspected Kim Jong Suk Naval University in the same city. The
earlier report did not say when the visit was made, but it was believed to have
been on Tuesday, considering the timing of the report.
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.
The military officials were also reported to have accompanied Kim during the
naval university inspection.
The play, originally produced in China in the 1960s, was "highly praised" by Kim,
the KCNA said in a separate report, adding that Kim ordered the country's
national theater group to perform the play again this year, which was designated
as a year of friendship between North Korea and China.
"It is our party and our people's unchanging will to further develop the North
Korea-China friendship, which has been made over a long period of time," Kim was
quoted as saying.
The two reports came as all eyes were on Hyun Jung-eun, the group chairwoman, as
she was visiting North Korea to negotiate the release of a detained employee.
Hyun drove through the inter-Korean border Monday at the invitation of North
Korea. A Hyundai employee, identified only by his family name of 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.
Sources in Seoul said Hyun appeared to be staying at the Paekhwawon State Guest
House in Pyongyang, North Korea's highest-level guest house where Clinton stayed
and dined with Kim, but it was unclear at the moment.
The latest report on Kim's whereabouts did not include a time element, but
suggested the leader was most likely outside Pyongyang as of Wednesday evening.
"I can't be 100 percent sure, but Kim currently seems to be in Hanhung,
considering the two consecutive reports of his visit there," said Chun Hae-sung,
spokesman for Seoul's Unification Ministry.
