Communist Tax Lawyer

North Korea’s state-run media outlets have released a flurry of reports of public appearances by the North’s reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il, in what analysts on Thursday described as an effort to demonstrate to his people and the outside world that he is firmly in control, despite widespread rumors of ill health.

Analysts said the timing of recent reports about Mr. Kim was linked to the American presidential election.“Kim Jong-il wants to show that he is in control and that he has no problem being a partner of dialogue with the United States,” said Kim Yong-yun, a North Korea expert at Dongguk University.

He suggested that the North Korean leader might soon stage a “foolproof” demonstration of his health, for example by releasing a video of his public activities or paying a courtesy call to the Chinese Embassy in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. China is North Korea’s main ally.

North Korea’s bar on international inspectors taking soil and waste samples from its reactor undermines efforts to check the communist state’s nuclear program, South Korea’s foreign minister said.

The U.S. removed North Korea from a list of state sponsors of terrorism in October after the communist state agreed to inspections of its Yongbyon nuclear plant and other locations suspected of being part of the regime’s atomic program.

Uranium from Kazakhstan will soon be powering Indian nuclear plants, the Kazakh ambassador to India revealed in a newspaper interview.

Kazakhstani envoy Kairat Umarov said state-owned Kazatompron was interested in exporting nuclear fuel to New Delhi, and assisting in the building of reactors.

“Kazakhstan today is the third biggest uranium producer after Canada and Australia. It is expected that by 2010, Kazakhstan will become the largest producer of uranium with production of 15,400 tons annually, which will be equal to 32 percent of the world’s total production,” Umarov said.

Bound together by dislike for America, and confidence based on surging energy revenues, has appeared: an “axis of diesel”, as some have named it, comprising Russia, Iran and Venezuela. At least before the present financial crisis, the trio had been hobnobbing happily. Russia has sold billions of dollars’ worth of arms to Venezuela and blocked Western attempts to slap tougher sanctions on Iran. The Kremlin is also selling air-defence systems to the Iranians.