N. Korea sets up watchdog for overdue parliamentary election

SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's parliament has formed an election
watchdog to prepare for its long-overdue parliamentary elections next month,
Pyongyang's news agency said Monday.

North Korea bypassed the elections, which were expected to be held by September
of last year, amid rumors that leader Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke in August. An
announcement last week that elections will be held on March 8 was widely viewed
as a sign that he has recovered enough to appear in public.
The Supreme People's Assembly set up an election committee and named Yang
Hyong-sop, vice president of the Supreme People's Assembly Presidium, as the
committee chair, the Korean Central News Agency said in a two-sentence statement.
Current lawmakers' five-year term expired in August.
A new assembly usually also brings a reshuffle of the Cabinet and military, Seoul
officials say. New lawmakers reappoint Kim Jong-il as chairman of the National
Defense Commission that oversees the North's 1.1-million-strong military, as the
chairman's term is set to coincide with that of the assembly.
The vote comes amid Pyongyang's stepped-up drive to resuscitate its frail
economy. North Korea has been shaking up several industry-related posts in its
37-member Cabinet since late last year, according to Seoul officials.
In a New Year editorial printed in the nation's major newspapers, North Korea
vowed to "solve food problems by our own efforts" and focus on rebuilding its
industrial infrastructure.
A state-run think tank in Seoul, the Institute for National Security Strategy,
said in its latest report last month that North Korea will promote young economic
elite in the upcoming election.
Citizens vote in the direct election, but the list of candidates are drawn up by
the Workers' Party which nominates one candidate in each electorate. The current
687 representatives were elected in 2003, all with 100 percent approval.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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