Pyongyang - The election of North Korea's reclusive and enigmatic leader, Kim Jong-il, to parliament may herald a return to what passes for political normality in the Stalinist nation, according to analysts.
North Korea's effusive state media said Mr Kim (56) was one of the 687 deputies elected to the Supreme People's Assembly on Sunday, with 99.85 per cent of the electorate voting. Mr Kim (56), son of North Korea's founder and first president, Kim Il-sung, was unanimously elected from constituency 666. That may be known as the "sign of the beast" in the Bible, but South Korean analysts say it is a military-dominated district of the capital, Pyongyang, and thought by some to be a lucky number in Korean mythology.