MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Business as usual says North Korea regime; calls Seoul politicians ‘foolish puppets’

Kim Jong-un has been named the supreme commander of North Korea

North Korea sounded on Friday a bellicose note in its first communication with the outside world since the death of leader Kim Jong-il, saying its confrontational stance against South Korea would not change and labelling its opponents “foolish.”

Since Kim Jong-il died on December 17, the outside world has been watching to see whether his son Kim Jong-un, aged in his late 20s, would stick to its hard-line “military first” policies that have seen the isolated nation move closer to nuclear weapons capacity.

“On this occasion, we solemnly declare with confidence that foolish politicians around the world, including the puppet forces in South Korea, should not expect any changes from us,” a broadcaster on state television said on Friday.

She was reading a statement from the National Defense Commission, the top body in the militarized and impoverished state under Kim Jong-il.

In a break from the black mourning clothing worn since Kim Jong-il's death, the broadcaster wore dark red clothes and almost shouted her defiant message.

North Korea has a long history of using bellicose phrases against the South, especially since the conservative government of Lee Myung-bak took office in 2008 and ended a policy of engagement with the North.

It has threatened to turn the South's capital Seoul into a “sea of fire” on numerous occasions and repeated that rhetoric again on Friday. “We will never engage with the Lee Myung-bak administration,” said the announcer.

“The sea of bloody tears from our military and people will follow the puppet regime until the end. The tears will turn into a sea of revengeful fire that burns everything.”

Little is known of Kim Jong-un, who had been groomed for government since 2009.

He has been dubbed “Supreme Commander” in North Korea and is expected to rule with the aid of key figures like his uncle Jang Song-thaek, at least in the early stages of the power transition.