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Kim Jong-il rallies military

South Korean protesters burn a picture of North Korean leaders Kim Jong-il and the late Kim Il-sung during an anti-North Korea rally in downtown Seoul on Wednesday. North Korea's threat to conduct a nuclear test that has raised regional tension to new heights. The text on the sign reads 'Overthrow Kim Jong-il.' PHOTO: AP

To cheers of "Fight at the cost of our lives," North Korean leader Kim Jong-il reportedly gathered top military commanders for a rally and urged them to bolster defenses amid mounting international fears of an imminent nuclear test by the North.

The meeting was the reclusive leader's first reported appearance in three weeks and the first since Tuesday, when his government shocked the world by announcing its plans to detonate an atomic weapon.

Media reports have speculated that a test could come as early as tomorrow, the anniversary of Kim's appointment as head of the Korean Workers' Party in 1997.

Japan said it was stepping up monitoring of North Korea in light of that speculation.

"In consideration of various possibilities, we are preparing for whatever may happen," Chief Cab-inet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said in Tokyo.

Kim congratulated the battalion commanders and political instructors for "bolstering the Korean People's Army as invincible revolutionary armed forces," the country's official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, reported late on Thursday.

Kim also urged them to "further strengthen the battalions," KCNA said.

Attendees responded to the exhortations with cheers and chanted slogans such as "Let's fight at the cost of our lives for the respected Supreme Commander comrade Kim Jong-il," KCNA said.

It was unclear when the rally took place, or how many attended, but it could show that Kim is trying to polish his credentials with the military at a sensitive time when the international community is stepping up pressure on Pyongyang to scrap any plans for a test.

Both North and South Korea were observing the Chuseok thanksgiving celebration yesterday, one of the two main Korean public holidays.

Kim's last reported public activity was last month when KCNA reported on Sept. 15 that he visited scenic Diamond Mountain near the border with South Korea.

The North claims to have nuclear weapons, but hasn't performed any known test to prove that. Six-nation talks aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions have been stalled for almost a year, and North Korea says it needs an atomic arsenal to deter a possible attack from the US.

Washington has repeatedly said it has no intention of invading North Korea.

Japan top government spokesman yesterday that Tokyo is stepping up monitoring of North Korea to detect a possible detonation.

Japan has two intelligence-gathering satellites and launched a third last month that can monitor the North's nuclear weapons and missile programs.
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