Great Leader title for Kim’s heir signals ‘no change’

North Korea has warned there will be no softening of its position toward South Korea after Kim Jong-il’s death as it sought to strengthen his heir’s authority by giving him the title, Great Leader.

Pyongyang’s National Defence Commission yesterday said it would never deal with South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, a conservative who halted an open aid policy toward the North in 2008.

The stern message also said North Korea was uniting around Kim Jong-un, referring to him for the first time by the title Great Leader – previously his father’s – in a message intended to suggest continuity. It was the latest step in a burgeoning personality cult around Kim Jong-un following the news of his father’s death on 17 December.

The younger Mr Kim on Thursday was pronounced “supreme leader” of the ruling Communist party, military and citizenry at a mass gathering on the final day of official mourning for his father.

“We declare solemnly and confidently that the foolish politicians around the world, including the puppet group in South Korea, should not expect any change from us,” the National Defence Commission said. “We will never deal with the traitor group of Lee Myung-bak.”

In a combative voice, a female news anchor for state TV read the National Defence Commission statement, saying the “evil misdeeds” of Mr Lee’s administration reached a peak when it prevented South Koreans from visiting North Korea to pay respects to Kim Jong-il, except for two delegations led by a former first lady and a business leader, both of whose husbands had ties to North Korea.

North Korea had said foreign official delegations would not be allowed at the funeral but that it would welcome any South Koreans who wanted to travel to pay respects to Mr Kim.

In a newly released postage stamp, Kim Jong-un was featured alongside Kim Jong-il against the backdrop of “sacred” Mount Paektu, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said. It appeared to be the first time that the son has been featured on a postage stamp. North Korea has often depicted Kim Jong-il and his father, North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung, together in official artwork.

The North’s statement is a warning for Seoul not to take the new leadership lightly, said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Dongguk University.

“It is also raising the stakes in case the South wants better relations so Pyongyang can extract greater concessions” during any later talks, Mr Koh said. He said it was “too early to say the North is dashing hopes for reforms”.

While blasting the South’s leader, the North also offered a bit of hope for improved ties with the South, saying it “will continue to push hard toward the path of improved relations”.

But it added that any improvement would not be “based on the deceitful ploys South Korea is employing by mixing ‘toughness’ and ‘flexibility’.” Seoul has signalled a change in its approach toward Pyongyang, saying it would be more flexible in dealing with the North.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry will maintain its North Korea policy and not react to every statement out of Pyongyang, said an official.