Analysts: Kim struggling to prove himself to military through publicized visits to border areas

Special to WorldTribune.com

North Korea’s youthful leader Kim Jong-Un has made high-profile public tours of frontline border areas, with tensions across the inter-Korean border running high during South Korean-U.S. joint military exercises.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un leaves the Wolnae Islet Defense Detachment near the disputed maritime frontier with South Korea in this undated picture released on March 11. /KNS/AFP/Getty Images

Kim’s activism represents a significant departure from the public persona of his late father and predecessor Kim Jong-Il who was hidden with no media coverage of his whereabouts during massive military drills in the South, apparently staying at an underground bunker for protection from attacks.

South Korean government officials and analysts interpret younger Kim’s media exposure as part of his campaign to demonstrate how brave he is by travelling to front-line barracks within range of South Korean artillery.

“His appearance at front-line regions amid heightened tensions is a carefully calculated maneuver to win loyalty from the military that still doubts the young leader’s capability to defend and run the country,” a military official in Seoul said.

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Analysts: Kim struggling to prove himself to military through publicized visits to border areas, Kim Jong-Un, South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise

Analysts: Kim struggling to prove himself to military through publicized visits to border areas added by World Tribune on March 28, 2013
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