Kim Jong-il is healthy, in charge: Gen. Sharp

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is healthy and
in firm control of state affairs, the commander of the U.S. forces in Korea said
Tuesday.

"We have seen him out in public many more times this year than the same period
last year, many, many more times," Gen. Walter Sharp told reporters here. "I
think part of that is he wants to convince his people he is in charge and okay."
Despite some paralysis in his left arm and some weight loss since an apparent
stroke last year, the North Korean leader "seems to be in decent health" and "is
in charge and moving around," Sharp said.
The commander was discussing Kim's public appearances in recent months, including
visits to military units and factories and meetings with former U.S. President
Bill Clinton and Hyun Jung-eun, chairwoman of South Korea's Hyundai Group, a
heavy investor in North Korea.
Kim's lengthy meeting with Clinton last month to discuss the release of two
American journalists and other bilateral issues ended suspicions about his
failing health that arose when he failed to appear at a major national ceremony
in September last year.
U.S. President Barack Obama, after a debriefing with Clinton, said last week that
Kim is healthy and in firm control.
"I think President Clinton's assessment was that (Kim Jong-il is) pretty healthy
and in control," Obama said. "There's no doubt that this is somebody who, you
know, I think for a while people thought was slipping away. He's reasserted
himself. It does appear ... he was more concerned about succession when he was
sick, maybe less so now that he's well."
Adm. Timothy Keating, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, also said earlier
this month, "Kim Jong-il was upright. He appears to be cogent and entertaining
reasonable discussions with the former president. We were less certain of those
capabilities than we are now."
Some analysts say Kim's failing health led him to conduct nuclear tests and
rocket launches as part of a plan to smooth the transition of power to his third
and youngest son, Jong-un, 26. Kim Jong-il is 67.
But in recent months North Korea has made conciliatory overtures, inviting
Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, for
bilateral talks on its nuclear programs. Pyongyang has said it will permanently
boycott the six-party talks due to U.N. sanctions for its nuclear and missile
tests.
The U.S. has said it will soon make a decision on the proposal in close
consultation with other parties to the multilateral talks, South Korea, China,
Japan and Russia.
On the power transition, Sharp said he sees "some grooming going on," adding,
"And we'll see how long he has to groom."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in February touched on the sensitive
power transition issue. "There is an increasing amount of pressure because, if
there is succession, even if it is a peaceful succession, that creates even more
uncertainty and it also may encourage behaviors that are even more provocative as
a way to consolidate power within the society."
The U.S. reached out to China recently on a possible contingency in the North,
but Beijing refused to discuss the possibility of a regime change or collapse in
the North, apparently to avoid provoking its closest communist ally.
Nonetheless, a U.S. government team is examining several scenarios, including
"regime collapse in North Korea," for inclusion in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense
Review, the first to be released under the Obama administration.
Keating also said in July that the U.S. has come up with scenarios for any
contingency in North Korea.
"We are prepared to execute a wide range of options in concert with allies in
South Korea and in discussions through (the Department of) State, which would
have the lead, with countries in the region, and internationally if necessary,"
he said. "I don't think it is axiomatic that the departure of Kim Jong-il means a
national security crisis. But we are going to be prepared if it does mean that."
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)