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South Korea's Unification Ministry will maintain its North Korea policy and not react to every statement out of Pyongyang, according to a ministry official who declined to be identified, citing the sensitivity of the relations between the countries. On Thursday, a somber Kim Jong Un stood with his head bowed at the Grand People's Study House, overlooking Kim Il Sung Square, named for his grandfather, who founded modern North Korea. A huge crowd of mourners gathered below. Kim Jong Un was flanked by top party and military officials, including Kim Jong Il's younger sister, Kim Kyong Hui, and her husband, Jang Song Thaek, who are expected to serve as mentors of their young nephew. "The father's plan is being implemented," Ralph Cossa, president of Pacific Forum CSIS, a Hawaii-based think tank, said of the transfer of power. "All of these guys have a vested interest in the system and a vested interest in demonstrating stability. The last thing they want to do is create havoc." Titles are important in North Korea and part of the myth-building surrounding the Kim family legacy. Kim Il Sung, the country's first and only president, retains the title Eternal President even after his death. Kim Jong Il held three main positions: chairman of the National Defense Commission, general secretary of the Workers' Party and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army. According to the constitution, his position as chairman of the National Defense Commission made him Supreme Leader of North Korea. Kim Jong Un was made a four-star general last year and appointed a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party. Since his father's death, North Korean officials and state media have given him a series of new titles: Great Successor, Supreme Leader and now Great Leader.
Associated Press writers Foster Klug, Scott McDonald and Sam Kim in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.
Follow AP's North Korea coverage at http://twitter.com/APklug and http://twitter.com/samkim_ap.
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