North Koreans urged to defend new leader with their lives

NORTH KOREA called on its people to rally behind new leader Kim Jong-un and protect him as “human shields” while working to solve the “burning issue” of food shortages by upholding the policies of his late father, Kim Jong-il.

The North’s three main state newspapers said in a policy-setting editorial traditionally published on New Year’s Day that Kim Jong-un has legitimacy to carry on the revolutionary battle initiated by his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, and developed by his father, the iron-fisted ruler who died two weeks ago.

“Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of our party and our people, is the banner of victory and glory of Songun (military-first) Korea and the eternal centre of its unity,” the 5,000-word editorial carried by the North’s state KCNA news agency said.

Asserting that the inexperienced young Kim, in his late 20s, is “precisely” identical to his father, the editorial said “the whole party, the entire army and all the people should possess a firm conviction that they will become human

bulwarks and human shields in defending Kim Jong-un unto death.”

Notably, the editorial called North Korea’s food problem “a burning issue” for the ruling Workers’ Party to solve and build “a thriving country.”

The destitute North has been suffering from chronic food shortages, relying heavily on outside aid. A UN report said in November the isolated communist state needs food assistance for nearly 3 million of its 24 million people in 2012.

Many Korea watchers in Seoul say the editorial did not suggest any major new changes in social or economic policies but appeared to be sensitive over the food issue.

“In order to solidify and stabilise his grip on power, tackling the food problem is one of the top agenda topics Kim Jong-un should deal with for now,” Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Koran Studies, told Reuters.

The editorial also assailed the South Korean government for pursuing confrontation despite efforts by the North to reopen dialogue, and it repeated its demand for the withdrawal of the US military from the South.

But conspicuously absent from the editorial was any mention of North Korea’s nuclear arms programme.

The North’s state media said on Saturday Kim Jong-un has been officially appointed supreme commander of its 1.2-million strong military.