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North Korea tries to project business-as-usual image on anniversary of Kim Jong Il's death
• PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -- North Korea vowed to unite behind leader Kim Jong Un during carefully staged events Tuesday to mark the second anniversary of his father's death, in an attempt to show it has returned to business as usual after the purge and execution of his once-powerful uncle last week.
• Kim sat silently as a stadium full of military and party officials paid homage to his father Kim Jong Il at the day's main event. He was flanked by Kim Yong Nam, the ceremonial head of state, and Vice Marshal Choe Ryong Hae, representing the military. Conspicuously absent was Jang Song Thaek, who was executed after being accused of corruption and trying to overthrow the government.
• Jang was widely seen as the second-most powerful man in North Korea before his fall. The regime's decision to execute and publicly vilify him -- charges of everything from alleged drug abuse to womanizing to trying to create his own powerbase were trumpeted daily in the state media -- heightened questions over the stability of Kim's two-year-old leadership and shattered the North's carefully cultivated illusion of total unity.
• But with Jang now out of the picture -- he is already being deleted from state media archives -- North Korea's official message Tuesday was back to its usual calls for "single-minded unity" behind Kim's leadership.
• As top officials sat with Kim on a wide stage at the Pyongyang Indoor Gymnasium for Tuesday's event with a huge portrait of Kim Jong Il behind them, heads bowed as the traditional North Korean funeral dirge played. At several points during the speeches, all rose to applaud the "immortal and glorious exploits" of the late leader. Kim Jong Un, wearing a gray Mao suit, did not speak at the ceremony.
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Report: NSA leaker Snowden offers to help Brazil investigate spying if given political asylum
• RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden wrote in "an open letter to the Brazilian people" that he would be willing to help Brazil's government investigate U.S. spying on its soil, but that he could do so only if granted political asylum.
• In a letter obtained and published early Tuesday by the respected Folha de S. Paulo newspaper, Snowden said he's been impressed by the Brazilian govern (Continued on page 24)
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