N. Korean leader makes record number of public visits in 2009

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Dec. 18 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made the highest
number of public appearances this year since taking power, Seoul's Unification
Ministry said Friday.
According to data filed by the ministry based on North Korean media reports, Kim,
who had a suspected stroke in 2008, appeared in public 156 times this year as of
Friday. The figure was the highest since Kim's regime was officially launched in
1998, four years after his father and the country's founder, Kim Il-sung, died.
"Considering the frequency of his field guidance trips, we think he has no major
problem in administering state affairs. He is more sprightly and active than ever
before, when we judge from the reports," ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said.
The previous annual record of 131 visits was set in 2005. Last year, Kim made 90
visits.
For outside watchers, North Korean media reports are almost the only official
source of information that offers a peek into Kim's activities. When he was not
mentioned or seen in media reports for weeks in the summer of 2008, including a
military parade at the 60th Workers' Party anniversary in September, outside
speculation had mushroomed about his health conditions.
Seoul and Washington officials later said he is believed to have suffered a
stroke in August.
The ministry spokeswoman said Seoul currently sees no unusual signs of Kim's
activities, despite a report that he may be ill again. According to Open Radio
for North Korea, a Seoul-based station that broadcasts South Korea-related
programs to North Korea and claims to have informants there, Kim has been
suffering from chronic laryngitis, a condition where the larynx is swelled or
inflamed, since November.
In a breakdown of his outings, the ministry data shows that Kim has significantly
increased economy-related activities while cutting back on military visits. The
number of his visits to industrial facilities and other economic venues shot up
to 64 this year, compared to 24 last year.
The number of his diplomatic activities, mostly meetings with foreign visitors,
increased to 13, compared to five last year.
Contrary to the overall rise of his outings, however, he made 43 inspections to
the Korean People's Army units, down from 50.
North Korea is engaged in an all-out campaign to build a "strong, prosperous and
powerful socialist nation" by 2012, the birth centennial of Kim Il-sung, an
economic drive virtually to solve chronic food shortages and rebuild its frail
infrastructure. In his latest field trip to the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex
in a northern province, reported on Friday, Kim said: "The next year is a very
important historic year in flinging open the gate to a thriving nation without
fail in 2012."
In a possible reflection of the North's power hierarchy, the top commander most
often took Workers' Party Secretary Kim Ki-nam with him in his outings, 107 times
overall.
His brother-in-law and a party department director, Jang Song-thaek, came second
with 84 visits. Jang, married to the leader's only sister, Kim Kyong-hui, is
believed to be acting as a regent for the leader's third and youngest son
reportedly named as the heir, Kim Jong-un. Driven by his health concerns, the
senior Kim is believed to have named Jong-un as his successor in January.
Kim's activities were mostly evenly spread across the year, reaching the highest
level in November with 19 visits and lowest in July with eight.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)