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N. Korea Releases First Video of Leader Since August


North Korean state media broadcast the first video of leader Kim Jong-Il in more than half a year as they hailed Sunday's rocket launch as a success.

The country's state-run television Tuesday showed a nearly one-hour documentary of the leader that included the first moving images since his suspected stroke last August.

Mr. Kim was shown touring factories and farms. The report said he made the visits late last year.

North Korea's communist party newspaper on Tuesday reported praise from Mr. Kim for Sunday's launch. But the Rodung Sinmun newspaper quoted the leader expressing regret that money spent on the exercise could not have been used to help his people's livelihoods.

North Korean media on Tuesday broadcast video of the launch, calling it a historic success that has instilled great national pride.

The Associated Press has also released video of the launch.

North Korea claims the rocket launched a satellite into orbit. Pyongyang rejected calls to halt the launch, saying it is entitled to the peaceful use of space.

But the United States, Japan and South Korea said the launch was a test of long-range ballistic technology. U.S. officials said they did not detect any new object orbiting the Earth.

Military experts said the first stage of the rocket separately successfully. But the second and third phase apparently failed to separate and fell with the rocket's payload into the Pacific ocean.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.

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