Age, military ties mark Kim Jong Un's inner circle

PYONGYANG, North Korea — 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, believed to be in his late 20s, leads North Korea just 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 in the midst of negotiating with Washington on much-needed aid to alleviate 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.