North Korea’s Leader Showing Up In Public

North Korea’s reclusive leader is stepping up his public activities.

Kim Jong Il visited front-line soldiers for a second time this week, the Communist country’s official news agency said Saturday.

Kim, 54, observed South Korea border positions from atop a command post in the central sector on Wednesday, the Korea Central News Agency reported. He also spoke with soldiers and joined them for a meal of field rations, it said.

Although seldom seen in the past, Kim has made a flurry of public appearances reported by official media and broadcast abroad, increasing speculation that he will soon succeed his father, the late Kim Il Sung.