SEOUL, South Korea — State-run television gave North Koreans their first glimpse Tuesday of the country’s “auspicious” rocket launch — and showed an apparently healthy leader Kim Jong-Il mingling with farmers and watching bears at the zoo.
Kim, 67, who is believed to have suffered a stroke in August, is expected to make a triumphant public return when he presides over the first session of the country’s new parliament Thursday for re-election as chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission.
North Korea claims Sunday’s rocket launch shot a satellite into space, where it allegedly is playing melodious odes to Kim and his late father, the communist country’s first president.
The U.S. and South Korea, however, say the rocket’s second and third stages fell into the Pacific Ocean with the payload still attached. They say the launch was a cover for testing long-range missile technology.
Exclusive footage obtained Tuesday by Associated Press Television News in Pyongyang showed a white rocket with Chosun, what North Koreans call their country, emblazoned on the side in red. The clip shows the rocket blasting off, then blazing across the sky.
Pyongyang resident Ri Yong-Hwa told APTN that the launch was “a great, auspicious event for the nation.”
State-run TV called the launch a success and a “great inspiration” to its people. North Korean television Tuesday showed new images as well of Kim, who has led with absolute authority since his father died in 1994. It was believed to be the first video of Kim since he fell from public view in August.
Analysts say the launch was designed to rally support for him as he prepares to formally ascend to his third term amid speculation about who will succeed him.
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