Kim adds ally to powerful military board

SEOUIL, South Korea, April 10 (UPI) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has named his brother-in-law and right-hand man to the powerful National Defense Commission, officials say.

Analysts said the move indicates possible signs that Kim, reappointed chairman of the military board, is gathering his confidantes for a power transfer, South Korea's state-sponsored Yonhap news agency reported.

Kim, 67, named Jang Song Thaek to the board in his first major public appearance since a reported stroke in August.

Jang, who married Kim's sister in 1972, currently serves as a director of the Workers' Party, Yonhap said.

"Kim wants to keep the military in check and secure loyalty to both the military and the party," Cha Doo-hyeogn, a North Korea expert, told Yonhap.