North Korea's leader-in-waiting, the youngest son of ailing ruler Kim Jong-il, took centre stage during a big military parade on Sunday, making his first national appearance in the secretive state.
Kim Jong-un stood near his father on the dais, clapping and saluting thousands of goose-stepping soldiers, and reviewing missiles, tanks and artillery rockets.
The young Kim’s prominent role at the parade in Pyongyang’s Kim Il-sung Square marked his military debut and showed his standing in one of the world’s largest armies.
Until his appointment as a general last month — along with his naming to a key political post — little was known about the young Kim other than that he was educated in Switzerland.
