North Korea schedules delayed elections

SEOUL, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- The North Korean government has taken steps toward normalization by scheduling overdue parliamentary elections for March, an analyst says.

Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korea in Seoul said the move by the government appears to represent an attempt to steady governmental power following a bout of poor health suffered by North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, the Yonhap news agency said Wednesday.

"With the election notice, North Korea is normalizing its political schedule, based on a judgment that Chairman Kim's health has recovered to some degree," Yang said.

Reports have said Kim, the chairman of the National Defense Commission of North Korea, has been in poor health since last August.

The parliamentary elections were initially supposed to take place in North Korea during that same month that Kim reportedly fell ill, Yonhap reported.

Seoul officials told the news agency the election of new North Korean assembly members for five-year terms typically results in major Cabinet and military changes.