N. Korea plays propaganda song for heir apparent at official event

(ATTN: SUBs paras 3, 4 to clarify)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- A song believed by North Korea watchers here to be
propaganda praising North Korea's heir apparent Kim Jong-un was played at a
recent public event attended by his father and current leader, the North's
television showed.
Kim Jong-il, 67, is widely believed to have named his third son, Jong-un, as his
successor, but the internal affairs of his family remain tightly shrouded from
the outside world.
Footage from the North's Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station aired on Oct. 9,
discovered belatedly, carries a caption reading "Footsteps," believed to be the
song extolling the valiance of the junior Kim and used as propaganda for his
future leadership. The caption came with photographs of a choir singing for Kim
Jong-il during his visit to the newly-built North Hwanghae Provincial Art
Theater, north of Pyongyang.
Other than in the caption, the song is not mentioned elsewhere, including in
comments by the television announcer.
It is the first reported case of the song being presented at an official event
attended by the elder Kim.
Kim Jong-il's entourage featured his sister Kim Kyong-hui and her husband Jang
Song-thaek, both of whom are believed to be deeply involved in grooming the heir
apparent at directorial posts at the Workers' Party. Other top party officials
such as Kim Ki-nam and Pak Nam-gi were among the audience along with residents of
the province.
The television presented footage of Kim and his entourage clapping their hands,
but it was not clear from the visual material whether they did so to the heir's
song.
The song's lyrics begin "Tramp tramp tramp / the footsteps of our General Kim /
spreading the spirit of February / tramp tramp tramping onwards." General Kim is
believed to be a reference to Kim Jong-un, and February the birth month of the
elder Kim.
Kim Jong-un, said to be born in 1984 to the leader's third wife Ko Yong-hui, has
been described as resembling his father the most in appearance and temperament
among the three sons. His older brother, Jong-chol, is 28, and half-brother,
Jong-nam, is 38.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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