Changing of the Guard?

Kim Jong-un's Uncle Gains Control of N.Korea

Kim Ok (in white square), the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's fourth wife, attends a ceremony to celebrate the completion of an amusement park on Wednesday in this photo revealed the next day by the North Korean Central News Agency. /KCNA-Yonhap 

North Korea is now firmly under the control of Jang Song-taek, the eminence grise behind 20-something leader Kim Jong-un, following the purge of a rival group led by army chief Ri Yong-ho. Analysts say Jang has emerged as the sole power behind the throne, systematically dismantling a power structure put in place by former leader Kim Jong-il before his death in 2011.

In January 2009, when Kim Jong-il handpicked his son Jong-un to succeed him, he handed control of the military to Ri, of the State Security Department to its first deputy director U Dong-chuk, and of the Workers Party's Organization and Guidance Department to some officials close to Jang, according to an informed source. But no sooner was Kim dead than Jang set about eliminating Ri, U and other key officials.

"There'd be no reason for Kim Jong-un himself to dismantle after just seven months in office the support structure his father built for him," said Baek Seung-joo at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. "The shadow of Jang Song-taek looms large" over the young leader.

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Kim Jong-un's Aunt Seen as Power Behind the Throne

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's aunt Kim Kyong-hui is the one wielding the real power in the Stalinist country now that her nephew has been named first secretary of the Workers party, experts believe.

Kim Kyong-hui

Kim Kyong-hui is the daughter of nation founder Kim Il-sung, which gives legitimacy to her status, and her experience in government is apparently making up for Kim Jong-un's lack of it.

"Kim Jong-un still doesn't seem to be making decisions by himself on important matters and consults with his aunt Kim Kyong-hui or his uncle Jang Song-taek," said a high-ranking government official here.

Kim Jong-un was tapped to succeed his father in January of 2009 and made his first official appearance in September of 2010. Kim Jong-il died less than three years after Kim Jong-un began training for the top job and ended up succeeding him without gaining full control of the military and government. North Korea watchers say this leaves Kim junior no choice but to lean on his aunt and uncle for advice.