Young NK leader displaying image starkly different from father`s

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is clarifying his intent to differentiate himself from his late predecessor and father Kim Jong Il through the tactics of direct propaganda and instigation.

While his father was a reclusive ruler, Kim Jong Un is apparently trying to promote his image as a young leader who is highly energetic and dynamic.

On the Day of the Sun (the birthday of his grandfather and North Korea founder Kim Il Sung) at a military review Sunday, in his first public speech, which lasted 20 minutes and 26 seconds, Kim Jong Un said something his late father had never said.

Kim Jong Il in his first and last public speech said, “Glory to the heroic troops of the People’s Army (of North Korea),” which lasted only six seconds, on April 25, 1992. Back then, he was attending an inspection ceremony marking the foundation of the North’s military. His comments at inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007 were reported via public media, but were not made in public speeches or were broadcast to the North Korean people.

North Korean media conveying Kim Jong Un’s belligerent comments intact is something that was unseen under the Kim Jong Il era as well. The Stalinist country`s Korea Central News Agency reported Feb. 25 that Kim Jong Un visited the 4th Corps of the (North) Korean People’s Army and said, “If the enemy invades even 0.001 millimeter into our waters, please wage a powerful revenge attack on the enemy’s head.”

In an inspection of a joint exercise of the North`s armed forces on March 14, the young leader said, “If the enemy makes a slight move, we must ruthlessly crush them with our rifles of justice and vengeance.” And on a visit to the Yodo Defense Squad in the East Sea on April 4, Kim Jong Un was quoted as saying, “If an enemy dares to attack, completely get them to drown to death."

Experts say the direct conveyance of aggressive comments Kim Jong Un made in on-site inspections of military units to the public in itself constitutes the heralding of his public speeches.

Jeong Seong-jang, a senior analyst at the South Korean think tank Sejong Institute, said, “Kim Jong Il didn`t use dreadful expressions such as `hit the enemy` and `get them to drown to death,`" adding, “Kim Jong Un’s remarks conveyed through the media are meant to highlight both his belligerence and aggressiveness.”

Additionally, the young leader has done informal actions such as hugging soldiers, posing for photos with them, and linking his arms with women’s. These show a style different from that of his father, who would just wave his hands from a distance or pose for commemorative photos with soldiers and North Koreans.

shcho@donga.com