NKorea's Kim appointed to 3rd term as leader

SEOUL, South Korea – Kim Jong Il made a triumphant return to parliament Thursday for his reappointment as North Korea's leader on the heels of a rocket launch heralded as "historic" at home but assailed elsewhere as provocative.

Kim, solemnly presiding over the opening session of the reclusive communist country's rubber-stamp legislature, was making his first major public appearance since reportedly suffering a stroke last August. He appeared considerably thinner and older than nine months ago.

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