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January 31, 2006 ㅡ ▶ Kim Jong-il, left foreground, at a ceremony Saturday. Jang Song-thaek, his brother-in-law, is third from the left in the row of officials behind Mr. Kim. This was his first public appearance since October 2003. Next to Mr. Kim are Kim Yong-chun, the head of the North’s military, and Kim Il-chol, its internal police head. [YONHAP] After more than two years of political ostracism, Jang Song-thaek, the brother-in-law of the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, appears to be back in the senior ranks of the communist ruling circles. Mr. Jang, 60, was once regarded as the second-ranking figure in the Worker’s Party. He was the first deputy of the party’s central committee until his exile from the party leadership, for reasons that are still a mystery to the outside world. But on Saturday, Mr. Jang was among a group of officials that accompanied Mr. Kim at a Lunar New Year ceremony, a signal of the leader’s favor. That was his first appearance in public since October 2003, when he was still a powerful political policy and personnel management figure in Pyongyang. He had sometimes been eyed by outsiders as perhaps the most likely candidate to succeed Mr. Kim; he appeared at a dinner for Korea’s president, Kim Dae-jung, when he visited Pyongyang in June 2000. He also was in Seoul in October 2002 during a fact-finding visit by an economic delegation from the North. Pyongyang-watchers here have been puzzled by his sudden decline. Unification Ministry officials say they have heard rumors of illness, house arrest and demotions. Since his last public appearance, they say, he has been working on ideological education matters for the party and had been ordered to keep a low profile. “Mr. Jang’s return is evidence that Mr. Kim still needs his expertise and ability to keep the Workers’ Party in line,” said a senior South Korean intelligence official. Mr. Jang took control over the party’s internal affairs in 1995. Kim Jong-il had hinted at Mr. Jang’s return last year, officials said, referring to a meeting with the South’s unification minister last June. “Mr. Jang became unhealthy after drinking too many boilermakers, so I ordered him to rest for a while,” Mr. Kim was quoted as saying. Another official here called Mr. Jang’s return an attempt to buttress family ties to ensure a smooth succession in the North’s family dynasty. by Lee Young-jong, Ser Myo-ja