Kim Jong-il reelected as N. Korea's military chief, promotes in-law to top post

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, April 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea reelected leader Kim Jong-il as its top
commander and promoted his brother-in-law to a powerful military post Thursday,
its media said, in possible signs that Kim is gathering his confidantes to
prepare for a power transfer.
In a crucial parliamentary meeting, the North also decided to revise its
constitution for the first time in 11 years, the state media said. Amid damaged
relations with Seoul's conservative government, the North removed an inter-Korean
cooperation committee from its Cabinet.
Kim made his first major appearance since his reported stroke last summer as the
rubber-stamp parliament reappointed him as chairman of the National Defence
Commission, the highest military decision-making body. His reappointment reflects
"all the servicepersons and people's expression of unquestioned support and trust
in him," the official Korean Central News Agency said.
Footage aired by the Korean Central TV Broadcasting Station showed a leaner,
expressionless Kim in his trademark khaki military suit taking about 10 steps to
his seat. He was slightly limping on his left foot, and his left hand barely
moved when he raised both hands to applaud the audience that gave him a standing
ovation.
Amid signs of recuperation from his illness, Kim, 67, promoted his
brother-in-law, Jang Song-thaek, as a member of the National Defence Commission.
Jang, currently a department director of the Workers' Party, was spotted
increasingly frequently with Kim during the leader's field trips this year, an
indication that he had become the aging leader's right-hand man.
"The most significant part in the parliament decisions is Jang Song-thaek's
promotion," Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies
in Seoul, said. "Chairman Kim Jong-il called Jang Song-thaek to the front line to
solidify his regime and also, indirectly, start preparations for laying the
groundwork for his successor."
Analysts have said Jang may play a caretaking role for Kim's successor, likely to
be one of his three sons. Some sources say Kim has named his youngest son,
Jong-un, as his heir, but Seoul's intelligence officials say there is no hard
evidence to prove that.
The state media said lawmakers approved a motion for a constitutional amendment,
but gave no further details. An amendment in 1992 helped transfer military
command to Kim from his father and then President Kim Il-sung.
Lawmakers "adopted the ordinance of the SPA 'On revising and supplementing the
Socialist Constitution of the DPRK (North Korea)' with a unanimous approval," the
Korean Central News Agency said.
Likely a response to the conservative Lee Myung-bak government, the new
parliament removed a Cabinet-level committee on economic cooperation with South
Korea, which was set up amid brisk relations in 2004. Major inter-Korean economic
ventures were shut down last year as political relations fell apart, and the
North further threatened the last remaining such project, a joint industrial
complex in the North's border town of Kaesong, last month.
The parliament gave no word about regional tensions, while the international
community strove for ways to respond to the country's rocket launch.
Countries including South Korea and the United States are seeking to punish North
Korea for this past weekend's launch, which they believe was actually a test of a
long-range missile. Both Russia and China, the North's closest allies, oppose
sanctions.
North Korea says Sunday's launch successfully put a satellite into orbit, but
intelligence officials say the rocket boosters and the payload fell into the
ocean.
Pyongyang's media reports have tied the rocket launch and Kim's reappointment to
the country's economic campaign to build a "great, prosperous and powerful
socialist nation" by 2012, the centennial anniversary of Kim Il-sung's birth.
Compared to recent years, Kim has nearly tripled his number of field inspections
in the past three months, revving up the economic drive. Among his 44 trips so
far, there were 20 to industrial facilities, while 13 were military visits,
according to Seoul's Unification Ministry.
North Korea's government budget will show growth of 5.2 percent from last year,
with a big share of it going to economic development and the "improvement of the
standard of people's living," the report said. Its defense budget, 15.8 percent
of the total, is the same as last year, it said. The report gave no actual
amounts, but the North's budget revenue this year is expected to be 482.6 billion
won (US$3.45 billion), and its defense budget 76.25 million won, based on
previous information.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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