North Korean leader goes about usual business

By Kim Se-jeong

With the supposedly planned Workers Party Conference not taking place last week, Kim Jong-il made his first public appearance since Sept. 12 at a concert hall in Pyongyang where he watched a performance by a female police unit.

Korea’s Central News Agency said Monday that the “Dear Leader” watched the performance featuring music by the trumpet and traditional string instruments that honored Kim, the party and the state.

The scheduled party meeting ― the first in 44 years ― was believe to be designed for Kim’s third son Jong-un’s official debut as the next leader of the reclusive state. His father traveled to China ahead of the thought-to-be scheduled conference to meet Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, in what appeared to be an attempt to receive an endorsement for Jong-un’s succession.

One day after another, the meeting kept being postponed, finally passing its “beginning of September” deadline of Sept. 15.

Speculation abounds about what is delaying the party conference.

Initially, it was said to be floods that caused the delay. Officials of international organizations told Yonhap that they had been told this by the North Korean authorities. A top government official was quoted as telling the Munhwa Ilbo that the flooding and the damage it has caused has prevented the regime from holding the meeting.

One rumor was a confrontation between the father and son. Another was a succession attempt by Kim Jong-il’s younger sister, Kyong-hui.

A comment by the former U.S. President Jimmy Carter flared the speculation even more.

After meeting Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, between Sept. 4 and 10, Carter wrote on his website, “(Premier Wen) surprised us by quoting the North Korean leader regarding the prospective promotion of his son, Kim Jong-un, as ‘a false rumor’ from the West.”

The speculation is unlikely to end until mid October, as Oct. 10, the anniversary of the party’s foundation, is being touted as the next possible date for the meeting.