North Korean leader Kim Jong-il appeared at his first major event since he was suspected of suffering a stroke last year when parliament re-elected him the countrys supreme military leader on Thursday. The move by the new rubber-stamp Supreme Peoples Assembly - while unanimous and totally expected - marked Kims return to centre stage as the reclusive communist state celebrates what it calls a triumphant satellite launch on the weekend.
North Korean TV broadcast footage that showed Kim looking thinner than he did before his suspected stroke in August. As he walked onto the stage at the newly elected assembly followed by other officials, delegates broke into thunderous applause. Kim, 67, who typically does not speak when he attends the annual parliament sessions, did not appear to address the delegates.
He has been conspicuously absent from major public events since his illness, which raised questions about his iron grip over Asias only communist dynasty and whether anyone was waiting in the wings to succeed him. North Korea has threatened to take "strong steps" if the UN Security Council punishes it for Sundays rocket launch.
The Security Council has so far failed to agree on a response to what was widely seen as a disguised missile test, prompting US Senator John McCain to press China, the Norths key ally, to get tough on its impoverished neighbour. The Norths KCNA news agency said Kim was re-elected chairman of National Defence Commission, the seat of power in North Korea, which named state founder and Kims father Kim Il-sung eternal president after his death in 1994.
Analysts said the carefully choreographed session of the assembly would give Kim a mandate that cements his legacy of building a military-first state and could pave the way to transfer power to one of his three sons.
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