North Korea: Kim Jong un uses softer touch to build up military support

Seoul – North Korea’s new dictator Kim Jong-un is trying to woo soldiers and the people by showing that he is one of them, portraying himself more as the heir of his grandfather Kim Il-sung, a figure still much-loved in the country, than his father Kim Jong-il. In his sixth visit to a military base since coming power, he was on his most friendly behaviour, hugging, shaking hands and chatting with soldiers and going even to the canteen.

This is very different from his father, who died on 17 December. The late Kim Jong-il tended to shy away from contacts with ordinary people. Indeed, few North Koreans ever heard his voice.

“The new leader cannot be associated with a father who led the country to mass famine in the 1990s and the killing of hundreds of thousands of people. It is better to play up the connection with the grandfather,” analysts said.

During the visit to the military base, broadcast by state TV and reported in party newspapers, Kim Jong-un was shown expressing interest in everything, from thermostat pressure to books and the taste of soup.

As he arrived, he was shown talking to children, patting one for quite a while, as the ‘eternal president’ used to do.

This change could be a way to consolidate power. With 1.2 million soldiers and the state’s ideology, ‘Juche’, centred on military readiness, the armed forces of North Korea are at the top of the hierarchy.

Kim Jong-il’s coldness and aloofness hardly endeared him to the military in society. His son, who lacks his father’s power base, is trying to develop new and more effective political supports.