NORTH KOREAN leader Kim Jong-il has consolidated his grip on power in the Stalinist enclave by appointing his brother-in-law to a key army post.
The move comes as the international community considers ways to punish the North for sinking the South Korean navy vessel Cheonan.
At a session of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly, unusually attended by Mr Kim in person, the secretive leader named Jang Song-thaek as vice-chairman of the National Defence Commission, according to a report on the North’s KCNA news agency.
The appointment should enable Mr Kim install one of his sons as his successor. Mr Kim has always needed the goodwill of the army to retain his grip on power. The most likely candidate for the job is his youngest son, Jong Un. Succession is on the agenda as Mr Kim suffered a stroke in 2008 and there is constant speculation about his health.
Mr Jang is the husband of Mr Kim’s younger sister and is reportedly back in favour following a dispute between the two.
Relations between the two Koreas are at their worst for years, with both sides engaged in sabre-rattling, which has alarmed neighbouring nations in the region.
North Korea has developed nuclear capabilities which makes it a more potent threat than ever.
Further trouble is expected later this month when the South Korean and US military are expected to stage a joint exercise. The exercise has angered the North Koreans who see it as an aggressive act.
The parliament also approved the sacking of premier Kim Yong-il, the latest senior official to be sacked, over a currency reform plan that failed last year, causing widespread hardship in the impoverished state.
He has been replaced by Choe Yong-rim (81), a close ally of Mr Kim. The new premier is chief secretary of the Pyongyang City Council of the Workers’ Party. Mr Choe was educated in Moscow and is very much part of the old guard.
Last week, South Korea took the dispute over the torpedoing in March of the Cheonanto the UN Security Council, demanding that the North admit to the attack, which killed 46 sailors.
The North denies involvement in the attack.