North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il yesterday attended a rare second annual session of parliament in which his brother-in-law was promoted and the nation’s prime minister was sacked, state media reported.
At Kim’s proposal, Jang Song-thaek became vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, the nation’s top decision-making body chaired by Kim himself, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
His promotion may suggest that Kim, 68, is moving forward with efforts to transfer power to his third son Kim Jong-un. Jang is close to Kim Jong-un and seen as likely to act as “regent” when the youngest son takes the reins.
PHOTO: AFP
REPLACEMENT
Kim Yong-il, who is unrelated to the leader, was replaced as prime minister by Choe Yong-rim, who heads the Pyongyang branch of the Communist Party.
Jang, the husband of Kim’s sister, Kim Kyong-Hui, has assumed an increasingly key role in recent years.
After Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke in August 2008, Jang was said by some analysts to be effectively standing in for the leader.
KCNA in a brief report said legislators discussed the recall of the prime minister and his replacement and “organizational matters.”
Three deputy prime ministers were also sacked, along with three ministers in charge of light industry, food supply and physical culture and sports.
Choe gave a speech at a mass rally on May 30, where up to 100,000 people reportedly denounced South Korea and the US for blaming Pyongyang for the sinking of one of Seoul’s warships.
South Korea has asked the UN Security Council to censure the North for the sinking that killed 46 sailors in March, after a multinational investigation team reported that the ship was hit by a North Korean torpedo.
The North has furiously denied involvement and threatened war in response to Seoul’s announced reprisals.
ASYLUM?
In related news, Kim Jong-nam, the leader’s eldest son, denied rumors he intended to seek refuge in Europe because his life was threatened in a fierce power struggle, a South Korean newspaper reported yesterday.
Kim Jong-nam dismissed the reports as groundless and said his father was in good health, the mass circulation JoongAng Ilbo reported. The paper said it tracked down the son at a hotel in Macau, where he answered a few questions while waiting for an elevator.
Dressed in jeans and blue suede loafers, Kim Jong-nam reportedly said: “I have no plans on moving to Europe. Why would I?”
“I could go there for a vacation, but I think you have only heard rumors,” he said.
Kim Jong-nam is one of three known sons of the 68-year-old North Korean leader. He had long been the favorite to succeed his father but reportedly fell out of favor because of his wayward lifestyle. In 2001, he was caught trying to enter Japan on a fake Dominican passport to visit Tokyo’s Disney resort.
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