N. Korea confers top medal to senior propaganda official

SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- North Korea awarded a top medal to a senior propaganda official, the country's state news agency said Tuesday, a development that could underscore the importance of propaganda in extending leader Kim Jong-il's family dynasty into a third generation.
   The order of Kim Il-sung was conferred on Kwon Hyok-bong, vice director of the Workers' Party department handling propaganda affairs, the Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch.
   "He made a signal contribution to educating" North Koreans and produced monumental masterpieces "flawless in ideological content and artistry suited to the features of a prosperous and powerful country," the dispatch said.
   The North has vowed to build a prosperous and powerful nation next year, the centennial of the birth of the country's late founder, Kim Il-sung, the father of current leader Kim.
   The move comes amid Kim's apparent preparations to hand over his power to his third and youngest son, Kim Jong-un.
   He named Jong-un vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party and a four-star general last year.
   The succession, if made, would mark communism's second hereditary power transfer. The elder Kim inherited power from his father, who died in 1994.