`Where Kim has visited'

In a sign that the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Il, is in firm control, a monument dedicated to him is being erected at the border village of Panmunjom, South Korean officials said.

The stone monument commemorates Kim's rare visit to the neutral village inside the demilitarised zone on 24 November. "This is where General Kim Jong Il has visited" is inscribed on the monument. The monument dedicated to the junior Kim is another sign that he is ready to assume power formally, more than two years after his father died, at age 82. AP - Seoul