Kim Jong Il has been unanimously re-elected Supreme Leader of North Korea, as the international community remains deadlocked over how to react to Pyongyang's missile test on Sunday.
The military dictator, who has not been seen in public since he suffered a stroke in August last year, was appointed to a third term by North Korea's Parliament, which, despite his prolonged absence from public view, gave thanks for his "dynamic leadership".
"This... marks a great event, strikingly demonstrating the unshakeable faith and will of the army and people of the DPRK to firmly defend and glorify the Korean-style socialist system centred on the popular masses," declared the official KCNA news agency.
Kim's less-than-surprising re-election comes at the end of a week of propaganda celebrating the country's military might, in the wake of what the regime insists on calling its successful satellite launch, which went ahead in spite of international condemnation.
The launch, widely seen as a disguised missile test, has left world leaders at odds over how to respond. As China and Russia continue to block calls from tthe US and its allies in the region to join a United Nations censure motion against Pyongyang, North Korea's Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Pak Tok Hun, has warned that Pyongyang will take "strong steps" if the Security Council takes action.
On a visit to China today, the defeated US presidential candidate John McCain pressed North Korea's key ally to join a UN censure motion on its communist neighbour.
"They can, and should, and haven't, exercised more influence on North Korea to try to rein in this threat to stability in this part of the world," he said after a meeting with China's foreign and defence ministers. Regarding China's calls for restraint, he added: "We've heard that for years."
Kim's re-election was announced to the North Korean people in a carefully stage-managed broadcast. While State television does not usually go on air until the 5pm news, a daytime broadcast showed undated footage of the Dear Leader meeting solders and workers. Interspersed with footage of the military at its patriotic best – MiG fighters flying above lines of tanks – smiling farmers tilled unusually lush fields and fishermen sang as they showed off their nets packed with their catch.
Kim was in almost every scene, although curiously some pictures showed the ample frame he sported before his illness, while others showed a slimmer version.
Kim usually attends the opening session of Parliament, but it was unclear if he had appeared today. The country's propaganda machine had earlier this week prepared the public for his full return by saying that he watched Sunday's rocket launch.
On Tuesday, it showed video footage of the launch on State TV followed by a documentary on Kim in which the public saw recent video images of him for the first time since his suspected stroke.
Analysts said that the carefully choreographed session of the Supreme People's Assembly would give Kim a mandate that cemented his legacy of building a military-first state and could lead to a transfer of power to one of his three sons.
Source:the times
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