Kim Jong-Il praises military during army inspection

PYONGYANG, December 16 (Itar-Tass) - North Korean Leader Kim Jong-Il
has inspected a military unit of the Korean People's Army (KPA). The North'
s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Thursday that the
general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), chairman of the
State Committee of Defence and Supreme Commander was satisfied with the
training of soldiers and officers, "who perform their duties with a high
degree of responsibility and keep an close eye on the aggressive designs
of the US imperialists and their puppets." He set them new tasks "that are
to enhance the combat readiness of the combat unit" the location of which
is not specified.
The North Korean leader also had his photograph taken together with
the military unit's servicemen.
Kim Jong-Il was accompanied by member of the presidium of the WPK
Central Committee, Chief of Staff of the KPA Vice Marshal Ri Yong-Ho, the
younger son General Kim Jong-Un, who is deputy chairman of the Central
Military Commission of the WPK, and other party and military leaders.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that the inspection came
amid persisting tension between the two Koreas after the North bombarded
the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in the Yellow Sea on November 23 and
killed four people, including two marines and two civilians. North Korea
claims it fired after South Korea shot shells toward its territory in a
US-backed plot to trigger another war on the peninsula. The South denies
the charge and has condemned the shelling as an inhuman crime for which it
will make the North pay, prompting Pyongyang to vow "merciless"
retaliation if provoked.
The KCNA did not identify the role or location of the unit Kim Jong-Il
visited, only saying, "He was greatly satisfied to learn that the
servicepersons of the unit are ... keeping themselves highly vigilant
against the aggression moves of the US imperialists and their stooges," an
apparent reference to the South. The visit is the 68-year-old leader's
first publicised one to a military base since November 12.
According to Yonhap, the report came as New Mexico Governor Bill
Richardson headed for North Korea on a private trip aimed at taming
regional tensions sparked by the November 23 bombardment. It remains
uncertain whether the former UN ambassador, who has made numerous trips to
Pyongyang, will be allowed to meet with the North Korean leader. South and
North Korea remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended
in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
-0-ezh/ast