N Korean leader disappears from public view

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il hasn8217;t appeared in public since his country test-fired missiles that drew international condemnation...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Il hasn8217;t appeared in public since his country test-fired missiles that drew international condemnation, leading to speculation of a possible sense of crisis inside the reclusive nation.

Kim attended a Russian art performance and visited a tire factory July 4, a day before the missile launches, and he hasn8217;t appeared publicly since, according to South Korea8217;s spy agency.

The North8217;s propaganda machine hasn8217;t reported on Kim8217;s activities since the missile launches, but last week the country8217;s official news agency said Kim sent a consolation message to ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Kim usually visits military units a few times a month to bolster his 8216;8216;songun,8217;8217; or 8216;8216;military-first,8217;8217; policy that rewards the 1.1 million-member military with the country8217;s scarce resources despite chronic food shortages.

Of Kim8217;s 131 public activities last year, 70 events were military-related, according to South Korea8217;s Unification Ministry. So far this year, 52 of 69 public activities were connected to the military.

Some North Korea watchers have speculated that Kim might be in a bunker, since the country is believed to have imposed a quasi-war footing after the UN Security Council passed a resolution condemning the missile tests and calling for nations to stop any missile-related trade with it.

The North test-launched seven missiles July 5, including a new model believed capable of reaching the US that failed shortly after takeoff.

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Getting a clear picture of the isolated communist regime is extremely difficult, because it strictly controls media and denies nearly all outside access.

In 2003, Kim disappeared from the public eye for seven weeks when his hard-line regime quit the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty and the United States invaded Iraq.

Cheong Seong-chang, a North Korea analyst at the independent Sejong Institute, attributed Kim8217;s latest absence to massive floods in North Korea, saying he has shied away from the public in times of crisis in the past. 8216;8216;Kim is refraining from public activities as he is in an internal crisis,8217;8217; Cheong said.

A senior South Korean intelligence official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of his position, didn8217;t attach any significance to Kim8217;s seeming absence, saying he often disappeared from public view. 8216;8216;Setting up a 8216;bamboo curtain8217; is a basic governing ideology of communist North Korea,8221; the official said.