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Kim Jong Il Shows Up To Show He's Back

This article is more than 10 years old.

North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il has made his first state appearance since suffering a suspected stroke last August.

Looking gaunt with noticeably grayer hair and limping slightly, Kim showed up for the first session of the country's new parliament Thursday, just days after the country's controversial rocket launch that may or may not have put a satellite into orbit (see "North Korea's Missile Launch").

The rubber-stamp legislature re-elected Kim as chairman of the National Defense Commission, the country's most powerful post, quelling months of speculation over whether the 67-year-old "Great Leader" was healthy enough to rule.

Kim had missed ceremonies last September marking the 60th anniversary of the country's founding. He was reported by state media to have attended a soccer match in October, but there was no photographic evidence published (see "Kim Jong Il Reappears, Perhaps"). And since then only stills. However, a documentary broadcast by state media on Tuesday along with footage of the space launch presenting North Korea as being technologically in the ascendant seems to be part of a concerted official effort to confirm that Kim is fully in charge.

That is not to say Kim is not preparing for his succession. His brother-in-law, Jang Song Thaek, 63, was appointed to the National Defense Commission, which runs the army and will have a critical role in the succession. The move is seen as preparation for one of Kim's sons eventually to take over, as Kim did from his father before him in 1994, with Jang leading an interim collective leadership or otherwise ensuring a smooth generational hand over.

Jang is believed to back the youngest of Kim's three sons, 26-year-old Jong Un, to succeed Kim, though he was also mentor to Kim's oldest son, Jong Nam, who in 2001 was deported by Japan after trying to enter the country on a counterfeit Dominican Republic passport, and has since said he does not expect to take over as leader.

Jang's appointment is a further stage in his political rehabilitation after being demoted in 2004 in what was seen as a warning from Kim about gathering too much power. He was rehabilitated in 2006 and he has since held posts in the ruling Workers' Party.