SEOUL - NORTH Koreans voted on Sunday in elections for a new
parliament which analysts say could lay the groundwork for a
transition of power in the impoverished communist state, news
agencies reported.
Elections for the rubber-stamp parliament did not take place in
2008 after its five-year term expired amid fevered speculation
about the state of health of reclusive leader Kim Jong-Il.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency and China's Xinhua both quoted
state media in the North as confirming the scheduled start of
voting.
Officials in Seoul and Washington say Mr Kim has made a good
recovery from his stroke in August last year and is still in
control of his country.
The 67-year-old is standing for election in a military
constituency in the vote for the 12th Supreme People's Assembly,
the North's state media reported earlier.
Mr Kim inherited power from his father, Kim Il-Sung, in the
communist world's only dynastic succession. But it is unclear
whether he wants one of his three sons to succeed him - and if so,
which one.
Yonhap has said, quoting unnamed sources, that Mr Kim has named
his third and youngest son, Jong-Un, as his successor and that the
25-year-old is running in the election.
The outcome of the election 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 Mr Kim as chairman of the
National Defence Commission, which oversees the 1.1 million-strong
military and is the North's most powerful organ.
A new parliament is also often the prelude to a cabinet
reshuffle. In the previous polls in 2003, state media boasted of a
99.9 per cent voter turnout and 100 percent support for every
candidate. -- AFP
