North Korea Names Kim Jong-un Top Military Commander

North Korea announced on Saturday it has appointed Kim Jong Un, the anointed successor and youngest son of Kim Jong Il, as supreme commander of its 1.2 million-strong military, two days after official mourning for its late leader ended.

The Korean Central News Agency, the state news agency, said the appointment was made at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party on Friday.

KCNA said the politburo members "courteously proclaimed the dear comrade Kim Jong Un, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, assumed the supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army," according to a will made by Kim Jong Il on Oct. 8.

It did not elaborate on the will.

Since Kim Jong Il's death on Dec. 17, North Korea's state media have dubbed Kim Jong Un "supreme commander." Some Korea-watchers say it may take Kim Jong Un months to assume the full panoply of official titles held by his father.

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But the announcement of the politburo's decision not only meant official approval of his control of one of the world's most powerful armed forces but also indicated the consolidation of his power could be much faster than expected.

Footage aired recently by North Korea's state TV has shown Kim Jong Un, believed to be in his 20s, flanked or followed by the the country's top military officers and a coterie of leaders during a series of mourning ceremonies for his father.

This signaled a smooth transfer of power to Kim Jong Un, the third generation of his family to rule the unpredictable and reclusive communist state since shortly after World War II.

"Faced with the sudden death of his father, Kim Jong Un and his supporters, who appear to be less prepared and insecure, may think they do not have much time in solidifying the young Kim's position," Koh Yu-hwan, an expert on North Korea's leadership and a professor at Dongguk University in Seoul, South Korea, told Reuters.

"The approval [of his supreme leadership of the military] should be one of the fastest ways to allow him the sovereign ruler position," Koh said. This ties in with the North's "military-first" policies on which Kim Jong Il relied heavily.

Kim Jong Un was named a four-star general and given the vice chairmanship of the ruling party's Central Military Commission by his father in 2010.

Many Korea-watchers also expect the inexperienced new leader, who had been groomed for rule only since 2009, to lead with the aid of a close coterie around him that includes his uncle and key power broker, Jang Song Thaek, at least in the early stages of the power transition.

Jang, husband of Kim Jong Il's younger sister, Kim Kyong Hui, stood behind his nephew in Wednesday's mass funeral parade, escorting the hearse carrying Kim's body.

Despite Pyongyang's determination to project an unbroken line from Kim Jong Un's ironfisted predecessors, which began with his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, there have been questions among outsiders about his capacity to lead the country.

North Korea, whose military is pursuing a nuclear arms program, is technically still at war with South Korea and suffers from chronic food shortages.

Labeling its opponents "foolish," North Korea warned South Korea on Friday it would stick to its hardline policies and said Pyongyang would never engage with the current government in Seoul.

Source: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/274840/20111231/north-korea-names-kim-jong-un-top.htm

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