Behind new N. Korean leader, a well-oiled machine: NYT

Since his elevation to leader after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il on Dec. 17 last year, Kim Jong-un has been presenting himself as a near replica of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, the New York Times reported Thursday.

From the way he clapped his hands, walked with shoulders thrown back and stood tall with a paunch, down to such details as his double-breasted greatcoat, high-trimmed sideburns, double chin and full cheeks, NYT said.

The packaging of Kim Jong-un as the embodiment of the North’s widely revered founding father suggests that a well-oiled machine is at work to create a new leader, it said.

“When North Koreans see Kim Jong-un, they think of Kim Il-sung when he was 33,” An Chan-il, a former North Korean Army officer, said. An, 57, was referring to 1945, when Kim Il-sung, a guerrilla leader fighting for Korean independence, entered Pyongyang at the end of Japanese colonial rule, casting himself as the smiling liberator, NYT said.