(LEAD) S. Korea says N. Korean leader's aunt may not have been elected to parliament

By Kim Kwang-tae

SEOUL, March 13 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's aunt may not have been elected to the country's rubber-stamp parliament, Seoul officials said Thursday, a possible scenario that analysts say could eventually lead to her retirement from politics.

Kim Kyong-hui, a senior ruling Workers' Party secretary, has failed to show up at key anniversary events in North Korea following the execution of her once-powerful husband, Jang Song-thaek, in December on charges of treason, sparking rampant speculation over her political fate.

North Korea has announced that a total of 687 new deputies were elected to the one-house legislature, called the Supreme People's Assembly, in the March 9 elections.

Although the assembly is a rubber-stamp body, it is widely recognized as a who's who of the North's power elite representing the government, the party and the military that form the backbone of the communist leadership.

According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency, those elected include the leader himself and Kim Kyong-hui.

Still, South Korea cautioned that the mentioned Kim Kyong-hui may be a different person with the same name, citing her constituency No. 285 in North Pyongan Province near the border with China.

An official of the unification ministry said key officials were elected in constituencies in Pyongyang, the North's capital.

There appears to be little reason for the leader's aunt "Kim Kyong-hui to run for a seat in North Pyongan Province," the official said.

A South Korean intelligence official also said the leader's aunt could not have been elected to the parliament either because of voluntary reasons or due to friction with leader Kim Jong-un.

The two South Korean officials spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the issue's sensitivity.

In previous elections in 2009, Kim Kyong-hui was elected in constituency No. 3 in Pyongyang, while a different person with the same name as the leader's aunt was elected in constituency No. 265 in North Pyongan Province, according to the unification ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs.

An analysis of the election results showed that most of those who were considered close to Jang, the once-powerful uncle of the North's young leader Kim, have been elected, a possible indication that the leader is confident enough not to worry about any backlash from the purge, according to analysts.

Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Dongkuk University, said Kim Kyong-hui's possible removal from the assembly indicates that Kim Jong-un does not need his aunt's support anymore and could be a step toward her gradual retirement from politics.

"Kim Kyong-hui's time is up," said Daniel Pinkston, an expert on North Korea at the International Crisis Group.

entropy@yna.co.kr

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