North Korea Elections

North Korea will hold a parliamentary election in April, six months before the scheduled end of the lawmakers' four-year terms, the official Korean Central News Agency announced Friday. The news report said the decision to hold the election for the Supreme People's Assembly was made in a meeting Thursday. The report, monitored in Tokyo, did not say why the election is being held six months early.

In a likely prelude to leader Kim Jong Il's rise to the president's office, North Koreans elected him and hundreds of others to the country's parliament. Less than an hour after voting ended, the country's official news agency announced Kim's election. Since the 1994 death of his father, Kim Il Sung, the 56-year-old son has been running the Communist country as supreme military commander and head of the ruling Workers' Party.

In a likely prelude to leader Kim Jong Il's rise to the president's office, North Koreans elected him and hundreds of others to the country's parliament. Less than an hour after voting ended, the country's official news agency announced Kim's election. Since the 1994 death of his father, Kim Il Sung, the 56-year-old son has been running the Communist country as supreme military commander and head of the ruling Workers' Party.

North Korean voters went to the polls Sunday to elect deputies to the 9th Supreme People's Assembly, or Parliament, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. The elections were held nearly six months ahead of schedule, raising speculation there may be a change in the country's leadership. President Kim Il Sung and his heir-designate son Kim Jong Il are among registered candidates for the Assembly, a rubber stamp for the country's ruling Communist Party.

North Korean voters went to the polls Sunday to elect deputies to the 9th Supreme People's Assembly, or Parliament, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. The elections were held nearly six months ahead of schedule, raising speculation there may be a change in the country's leadership. President Kim Il Sung and his heir-designate son Kim Jong Il are among registered candidates for the Assembly, a rubber stamp for the country's ruling Communist Party.

North Koreans go to the polls on Sunday, and with all the candidates running unopposed, there will be no electoral surprises in what many consider the world's most unabashedly totalitarian state. Nonetheless, North Korea watchers say that the parliamentary election could be a prelude to political and economic changes.

North Korea will hold a parliamentary election in April, six months before the scheduled end of the lawmakers' four-year terms, the official Korean Central News Agency announced Friday. The news report said the decision to hold the election for the Supreme People's Assembly was made in a meeting Thursday. The report, monitored in Tokyo, did not say why the election is being held six months early.