North Korea’s Kim Jong-Il Appears With Son

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made an appearance at a military parade on Friday in Pyongyang along with his son, the regime’s heir apparent, to celebrate the founding of the communist nation.

Thousands of spectators and soldiers attended, while Kim and his son Jong-un clapped at a stand, according to photos published South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency. The two observed goose-stepping soldiers, parading tanks, and other military hardware.

Observers have said that Kim, who has been in ailing health over the past several years, is looking to transfer power to his son, who is already a four-star general and the vice-chairman of the Communist Party’s Central Military Commission.

In 2008, Kim did not appear at the annual parade. Some have speculated that he may have suffered a stroke during the same year. Since then, he had made a relatively sparse amount public appearances.

Last year, Kim named son Jong-un as the vice-chairman of the Commission, leading observers to believe that he is grooming his son to take his place when he dies or is too unwell to continue.

Kim Il-sung, the father of the current leader and founder of the regime, transferred power to Kim Jong-Il in 1994.

In March, the World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that more than 6 million North Koreans suffer from food shortages in the rural, austerely ruled country. Last fall, heavy rains had a negative impact on the country’s grain harvest.

The European Union sent $13.5 million in food aid to North Korea in July to move hundreds of thousands of people in the Northern and Eastern provinces of the country.

A statement from the EU says the country is in the “most difficult period of the worst year for food production in recent times,” adding that many locals have been forced to eat grass due to the severity of the situation.