ID :
37966
Tue, 12/30/2008 - 13:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/37966
The shortlink copeid
Kim Jong-il in power, everything normal in N. Korea, Seoul's minister says By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- The recent increase in North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's public appearances suggests his leadership is stable and that everything is normal, South Korea's unification minister said Monday as rumors continue to circulate on Kim's health.
"Considering such circumstances, I think the North Korean leadership is stable,"
Kim Ha-joong, Seoul's chief policymaker on Pyongyang, said in a meeting with
reporters.
Kim's remark was a rare official comment from Seoul that suggests the North
Korean leader maintains full control of the communist state. Kim went unseen for
more than 50 days from mid-August, prompting speculation he may be too ill to
govern.
Seoul and Washington officials say Kim had a stroke but is now recovering. Since
he resumed an inspection tour in early October, North Korea has reported 22
visits by Kim. Several of them were reported over the past few days.
"My judgment is that everything is normal," the minister said without further
elaboration, "The year-end concentration (of his activities) seems a bit unique."
The minister remained optimistic on the inter-Korean relations, which dipped to a
record low during President Lee Myung-bak's first year in office.
"In the new year, when time comes, North Korea will understand our sincerity and
come forward for talks," he said. "However much North Korea criticizes us, we
will continue to propose dialogue.
"Experts say the North Korean military is spearheading the hard-line stance,
while another opinion, though not the mainstream, is that the military is not
involved in foreign relations. We listen to all of them," he said.
Pyongyang has recently intensified accusations to blame Seoul for frayed
relations. Vice Marshal Kim Il-chol, minister of the North's Korean People's
Army, warned last week that the North's military will turn the South into
"debris" should South Korea start a war.
Seoul's Lee administration adopted a tougher stance than his predecessors,
demanding North Korea abandon its nuclear program and improve its human rights
situation. Seoul did not provide food or fertilizer aid to Pyongyang the past
year.
North Korea cut off dialogue in retaliation.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
"Considering such circumstances, I think the North Korean leadership is stable,"
Kim Ha-joong, Seoul's chief policymaker on Pyongyang, said in a meeting with
reporters.
Kim's remark was a rare official comment from Seoul that suggests the North
Korean leader maintains full control of the communist state. Kim went unseen for
more than 50 days from mid-August, prompting speculation he may be too ill to
govern.
Seoul and Washington officials say Kim had a stroke but is now recovering. Since
he resumed an inspection tour in early October, North Korea has reported 22
visits by Kim. Several of them were reported over the past few days.
"My judgment is that everything is normal," the minister said without further
elaboration, "The year-end concentration (of his activities) seems a bit unique."
The minister remained optimistic on the inter-Korean relations, which dipped to a
record low during President Lee Myung-bak's first year in office.
"In the new year, when time comes, North Korea will understand our sincerity and
come forward for talks," he said. "However much North Korea criticizes us, we
will continue to propose dialogue.
"Experts say the North Korean military is spearheading the hard-line stance,
while another opinion, though not the mainstream, is that the military is not
involved in foreign relations. We listen to all of them," he said.
Pyongyang has recently intensified accusations to blame Seoul for frayed
relations. Vice Marshal Kim Il-chol, minister of the North's Korean People's
Army, warned last week that the North's military will turn the South into
"debris" should South Korea start a war.
Seoul's Lee administration adopted a tougher stance than his predecessors,
demanding North Korea abandon its nuclear program and improve its human rights
situation. Seoul did not provide food or fertilizer aid to Pyongyang the past
year.
North Korea cut off dialogue in retaliation.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
