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Kim Jong-il watches opera with sister: Report

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-16 08:26

SEOUL: The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) top leader Kim Jong-il watched an opera in the company of his sister, state media said Monday, amid reports that her husband is playing an increasingly key role in government.

Kim enjoyed the opera The Dream of the Red Chamber staged by the Phibada (Sea of Blood) Opera Troupe, the official Korean Central News Agency said without giving a date for the visit.

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It said he was accompanied by his only sister Kim Kyong-hui and other senior party officials and military chiefs.

Her husband Jang Song-thaek is currently the Communist party's administration department director.

Jang has strengthened his image as the leader's right-hand man since he was brought into the DPRK's most powerful organ, the National Defense Commission, in April.

There is speculation he will play the role of regent as Kim, 67, grooms his youngest son Jong-un to take over.

Since Kim reportedly suffered a stroke last August, the DPRK's policy has grown notably harder-line, with a long-range rocket launch in April and a second nuclear test in May.

Analysts say Kim is projecting an image of strength to bolster his authority as he prepares his son for an eventual takeover.

His trip to the opera comes amid growing tensions with the United States and its allies. In protest at new UN sanctions following the nuclear test, the North vowed on Saturday to build more nuclear bombs.

The opera, a remake of the Chinese classic of the same name, was staged to mark the year of friendship between China and the DPRK, the report said.

New nuclear test feared

Tens of thousands of people rallied in Pyongyang Monday to condemn the UN rebuke of the country's latest nuclear test amid concern the DPRK could conduct another one.

The US and the Republic of Korea (ROK) are scrutinizing 11 underground sites across the DPRK where it could conduct a third nuclear test, based on intelligence it may do so in protest of the UN Security Council sanctions, Seoul's JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported earlier Monday.

ROK President Lee Myung-bak departed for summit talks in Washington today with President Barack Obama that are expected to be dominated by the DPRK's nuclear and missile programs.

Also Monday, Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified intelligence official as saying the DPRK may have already built two to three underground test sites near its known Punggye-ri site in the remote northeast, where it conducted its first and second tests.

A news report from Moscow quoted an official in the Russian military general staff as saying there has been a decrease in visible activity around the DPRK's nuclear facilities in recent days.

This could either indicate that the DPRK has prepared for a new underground nuclear test or is taking a break, according to the state-owned RIA-Novosti news agency. It did not name the official, and the general staff could not immediately be reached for comment.

The DPRK has also been preparing to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the United States, US officials have said. The DPRK says the nuclear and missile programs are a deterrent against the United States.

AFP - AP