North Koreans voted Sunday in elections for a new parliament which analysts say could pave the way for an eventual transition of power in the impoverished communist nation.
The vote is also being closely monitored around the world for clues as to whether the state, which tested an atomic weapon in October 2006, will soften its stance in international negotiations and dismantle its nuclear arsenal. Voting to the rubber-stamp parliament did not take place in 2008 when its five-year term expired amid fevered speculation over the health of reclusive leader Kim Jong-Il.
The Norths television showed soldiers in uniform using both hands to politely raise and drop a ballot into a box at a Pyongyang polling station where Kim was standing. It said they were "voting for" Kim. The official Korean Central News Agency reported that 93.1 percent of registered voters had cast their ballot by 2:00pm (0500 GMT).
"All the voters are going to the polls to consolidate the peoples power as firm as a rock," the agency said, quoting the Central Election Commission. "I am filled with joy to think that I am able to contribute to the strengthening of the revolutionary sovereign power through my vote," Park Mi-Hyang, a 22-year-old factory worker in Pyongyang, told Kyodo news agency.
Officials in Seoul and Washington say Kim Jong-Il has made a good recovery from a stroke he suffered in August last year and is still in control of the country, but his health and age have inevitably led to talk abroad about who will succeed him.
He inherited power from his father, Kim Il-Sung, in the communist worlds only dynastic succession. But it is unclear whether he wants one of his three sons to succeed him - and if so, which one. "Kim Jong-Il will turn 72 when the next election comes, and given his ageing, it is likely that an idea about a post-Kim era will be reflected in the elections this time," Kim Yong-Hyun, a North Korea expert and professor at Dongguk University in Seoul, told AFP.
Yonhap has reported, quoting unnamed sources, that the leader has named his youngest son, Jong-Un, as his successor and that the 25-year-old is running in the election. The outcome is not in doubt - candidates are picked by the government or ruling party, and only one stands in each district.
The incoming assembly will re-elect Kim, 67, who is standing in a military district, as chairman of the National Defence Commission. The commission, which supervises the 1.2 million-strong military, is North Koreas most powerful organ, and its new line-up will be seen as an indicator of who is moving up the ladder of power and influence.
A new parliament is also often the prelude to a cabinet reshuffle. Assembly members are lawmakers, but it is common for them to hold key posts in the ruling communist party as well as in the military and government, Seoul officials say. In the previous polls in 2003, state media boasted of a 99.9 percent voter turnout and 100 percent support for every candidate.