A NORTH KOREAN POST IN PANMUNJOM, SOUTH KOREA, 1998-09-09 (photo)

A guard post on the North Korean part of the demilitarised zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas holds a placard reading "Welcome the Election of the President". The DMZ is a buffer zone along the border between South and North Korea which are technically at war after their 1950-53 war ended in a truce. North Korea last week re-elected Kim Jong-il as chairman of its national defence committee and said the job was the highest state post. It did not elect Kim, the son of its late "Great Leader" President Kim Il-sung, president but said Kim Il-sung remained the "eternal president", actually abolishing the post of president. YCS/SB