N. Korean leader watches Russian opera

(ATTN: UPDATES with number of Kim's outings, official's quote)
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il attended a performance
by a Russian dance ensemble with his vice foreign minister and party officials,
the North's media said Wednesday.

Kim's outing comes 10 days after he reportedly viewed a Chinese opera produced by
a local art troupe on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic
relations between North Korea and China.
Kim was greeted by Elena Scherbakova, director of Russia's Igor Moiseyev Dance
Company, which is currently touring North Korea, and watched a series of Russian,
Ukrainian and Korean dance performances presented by the company, said the
official Korean Central News Agency.
"He expressed thanks for this and had a warm conversation with the guest," the
report said.
"He highly praised the artistes of the dance company for having conducted
enthusiastic performing activities in Pyongyang and local areas during their
visit to the DPRK (North Korea)," it said.
The report did not say when the latest visit was made, characteristic of the
North's media coverage of the leader's public activities. He was accompanied by
Kang Sok-ju, first vice minister of foreign affairs, along with senior party
officials and military generals, it said.
Kim, 67, who reportedly suffered a stroke in August, has considerably increased
his level of public activity this year in what appears to be an attempt to show
he is still in control of the nation. Kim's outings have been reported on 77
occasions so far this year, compared to 49 visits made during the same period
last year, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry. The increase was
especially notable in economic and cultural events.
Known to be fond of Russian music and dance, Kim has occasionally invited the
Russian dance company to perform in North Korea.
Kim is believed to have named his youngest son, Jong-un, as his successor.
Analysts link the envisioned leadership change to the communist nation's recent
aggressive behavior, marked by nuclear and missile tests. Russia and China, among
the few nations that maintain close relations with North Korea, supported new
U.N. sanctions for the North's May 25 underground nuclear test.
The Seoul ministry could not say whether Kim's successive outings to Chinese and
Russian operas signaled any diplomatic gesture aimed at softening reactions by
those countries.
"It is hard to say if those events were closely related," ministry spokeswoman
Lee Jong-joo said.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
(END)

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