Three years after becoming North Korean leader, all eyes on Kim Jong-un
Analysts divided on how much power he has amassed since taking over three years ago after his father's death but agree he is unpredictable
With North Korea having ended the official mourning period for late leader Kim Jong-il on Wednesday, his son and successor, Kim Jong-un, is now being watched for how he crafts his leadership outside his father's shadow.
The young leader has already been making marks since his father's death catapulted him to power three years ago. But diplomats and analysts remain divided on how much power the 31-year-old has consolidated and how this affects the policy options he has to run the country.
"Kim Jong-il was a man of strategy and was more calculating. But Kim Jong-un is not like that," said one South Korean diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Instead, both this diplomat and officials in Japan described Kim Jong-un as "capricious" and even harder to predict than his wily father.
In his brief period in power, Kim Jong-un has sought to carry out further economic reforms and attract foreign investment while clinging firmly to his father and grandfather's nuclear ambition - policies that many analysts consider contradictory.
Kim Jong-un allegedly fended off a coup by purging and executing his powerful uncle Jang Song-taek, kept the world guessing by disappearing for weeks due to a leg injury and made friends with American basketball player Dennis Rodman.