By Lee Tae-hoon
North Korea’s state media referred to Kim Jong-un, the youngest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, as an outstanding leader and successor to the Stalinist regime’s “revolutionary achievements.”
Observers say this can be construed as a proclamation of his position as the new leader of the North, founded by his grandfather Kim Il-sung in the 1940s and later ruled by his father Jong-il.
“We should unite around great comrade Kim and faithfully follow his leadership,” the Rodong Sinmun, the official daily of the North’s ruling Workers’ Party, noted Thursday in an editorial carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
The editorial suggested that Kim, who is believed to be in his late 20s, will uphold his father's push to expand ties with China and Russia.
“North Korea will strive to strengthen friendships with people of other countries in an effort to build a more self-reliant and peaceful world,” it said.
The Minju Joson, one of the North's regime’s newspapers, described him as a “great sun,” an expression reserved for his late father and grandfather in an editorial.
"He is a great sun and another great general who carries the bloodline of Mangyongdae," the paper said.
Mangyongdae is the birthplace of Kim’s grandfather, who created a personality cult surrounding him in a bid to safeguard his family's grip on power and widely known as a sacred place among North Koreans.
North Korea watchers say these editorials are aimed at ensuring a smooth transition of power to Jong-un who is little known to the outside world.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the young, inexperienced ruler is having no difficulty in assuming the throne in the North.
"Kim Jong-il had designated Jong-un as his official successor and at this time we have no indication that that has changed," Carney said Wednesday.
Carney said Washington hopes the new leadership will support peace, prosperity and a better future for its people, and that it will abide by its commitments on denuclearization.
Meanwhile, Kwon Young-se, a lawmaker of the ruling Grand National Party and chairman of the parliamentary intelligence committee, claimed Kim may not be fully in charge of the country's powerful military.
A source said Wednesday that the young Kim commanded all military units to halt field exercises and training and return to their bases, in his first order just before the announcement of his father's death this week.
The source said the order showed he is complete control over the North's 1.1 million-strong military, which served as a backbone of his father's rule.
Still, Kwon said it was natural for Kim to issue that order after his father's death because he was designated as heir in a radio program. .
Kwon argued that this is too much to interpret this as indicating his full control over the armed forces.