Advisers stay close to North Korea's new leader

Wherever North Korea's young new leader goes, they're there: a group of graying military and political officials who shadow Kim Jong Un as he visits army bases, attends concerts and tours schools.

As Kim Jong Un steps into the role of "supreme commander" less than two months after his father's death, these officials can be seen in the background. They listen attentively as their leader speaks during "guidance visits" and stand at his side during group photos, smiling and clapping.

Since Kim Jong Il died of a heart attack in December, Kim Jong Un has assumed the mantle of leadership with apparent confidence. But this aging circle of advisers is never far behind, lending the young man gravitas and experience while making clear that he has the backing of the powerful military.

The world has been watching for signs of trouble as Kim, thought to be in his late 20s, leads North Korea three years after he was tapped to be his father's successor.

His ascension comes at a delicate time. Kim Jong Il died as diplomats were negotiating with Washington on much-needed aid to ease a chronic food shortage. There were also discussions between North Korea and its neighbors on the prospect of restarting nuclear disarmament negotiations.

The show of support by the nation's core military and political leadership settles a major question about the new era under Kim Jong Un: Kim Jong Il's "military first" policy will remain in place. And it's clear that these men, many now in their 70s and 80s, will continue to advise Kim Jong Un after years of working with his father and even his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung.

The "central" leadership stepped into the spotlight most vividly during Kim Jong Il's funeral in a tableau watched as closely here in Pyongyang as it was in Seoul and Washington for signs indicating who is in power in North Korea's opaque political system.

On that day, in a swirl of snow, eight men accompanied the black limousine bearing Kim's flag-draped coffin: Kim Jong Un and seven elderly men who represent the topmost levels of North Korea's military and political circles.

At the front of the hearse, opposite Kim Jong Un, walked Ri Yong Ho, vice marshal of the Korean People's Army and the military's General Staff chief.

Ri wields power from his position at the intersection of three crucial institutions: the Korean People's Army, the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party and the Standing Committee of the party's influential Political Bureau.

Ri, who has operational control of the army, also oversees an influential Kim Jong Un support group made up of officers in their 50s and 60s whom commanders consider rising stars, according to Ken Gause, a North Korea specialist at CNA, a U.S.-based research organization.

Walking directly behind the young leader during the funeral procession was his uncle, Jang Song Thaek, husband of Kim Jong Il's younger sister, Kim Kyong Hui, who is also an important Kim Jong Un patron.

Jang, 65, is a vice chairman of the National Defense Commission. Under the constitution, the commission is the country's highest military body, and Kim Jong Il led the country as chairman.

Jang apparently is involved in big economic projects and oversees internal security offices, according to Nicholas Hamisevicz, director of research and academic affairs for the Korea Economic Institute in Washington. Jang was a frequent companion to Kim Jong Il on field inspection trips last year.

"He is thought to be helping groom Kim Jong Un by providing him information as well as some political protection," Hamisevicz said.

Also escorting Kim's hearse was People's Armed Forces Minister Kim Yong Chun, who controls military logistics and training, according to Gause. In a Jan. 28 state media report, Kim Yong Chun, 75, was mentioned second only to Ri Yong Ho in a list of top aides who accompanied Kim Jong Un to a military concert.

Kim Ki Nam, 82, is credited with orchestrating the legends surrounding the Kim family and serves as the main ideologue for the country, according to the World Institute for North Korea Studies in South Korea.

Kim Jong Gak is a senior political officer in the Korean People's Army, while U Tong Chuk is a top state security official. On Jan. 9, Kim Jong Gak was mentioned prominently at a massive rally of army, navy and air force troops pledging loyalty to Kim Jong Un. U Tong Chuk has attended two concerts with the new leader this year, according to state media.

Rounding out the funeral entourage was Choe Thae Bok, longtime chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly and a member of the Politburo who has led a number of North Korean delegations overseas. Choe is 81, according to the South Korean government.

One of these men is invariably at Kim Jong Un's side.

"While Kim might enjoy real authority, it is his relationship with the leadership support system around him that will determine the latitude he has to make decisions on his own," Gause said.