Clad in light grey North Korea's Kim goes for softer image in New Year address
Kim Jong Un
SEOUL (Reuters) - The light-grey suit and matching tie that  North Korea’s Kim Jong Un  donned for  his  New Year’s address was likely carefully calculated to project a softer  more relaxed image to go with  his  surprise offer for talks with Seoul.
Departing from  his  usual black or navy suits  Kim gave  his  televised speech wearing black-rimmed glasses and slicked back hair  speaking fluently and rarely looking down to read as  he  raised the possibility of sending a delegation to the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea.
“In this New Year’s address  North Korea seems to have taken great pains with the image portrayed by Kim Jong Un ” said an analysis by the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification after  Kim ’s speech.
“The change from the previous dark Maoist suits to a softer toned grey Western-style suit likely aimed to underpin peace  which  Kim  stressed in  his  address ” the institute said.
It added that  Kim ’s style “reflected a relaxed state of mind” that likely resulted from  his  previous announcement that North Korea had achieved its nuclear ambitions.
After a year dominated by fiery rhetoric and escalating tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme   Kim  declared Monday that  his  country was “a peace-loving and responsible nuclear power” and called for lowering military tensions and improving ties with the South.
 Kim  also said  he  was open to dialogue with Seoul  prompting South Korea on Tuesday to propose high-level talks between the two countries on Jan. 9 at the border truce village of Panmunjeom.
FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves to people attending a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of country's founding father  Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang  April 15  2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj
Analysts said the North Korean leader’s speech on Monday showed more confidence compared to previous years  his old habit of swaying from side to side while making speeches nearly undetectable. In his first New Year’s address as North Korea’s leader in 2013   Kim  frequently sounded short of breath  his voice wavering from time to time.
 Kim  made  his  maiden public address in April 15  2012 at a parade marking the centenary of  his  grandfather’s birth. This year  there was none of the uneasiness that marked that speech and  his  subsequent public addresses.
 His  voice   his  hair shaved on the side  as well as  his  light-colored Western-style suit and glasses  were also reminiscent of  his  grandfather  Kim Il Sung  according to defectors and analysts. Kim Il Sung had a more gregarious and popular image than  Kim Jong Un’s  reclusive father  Kim Jong Il.
 Kim Jong Un  has embraced New Year addresses as a chance to outline  his  policies and rally the North Korean people. Last year   he  used  his  speech to declare that North Korea was in the “final stages” of perfecting an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Kim Gun-hee  a consultant on image making and leadership  said the grey suit may have been designed to deflect some of the negative global attention  Kim ’s nuclear and missile tests have prompted.
“When we advise clients who are in tough situations or are surrounded by unfavourable rumours  we tell them to wear either white or grey ”  she  said.
“In the study of color psychology  white imbues innocence while grey tends to take attention away from you.  Kim  may have felt some pressure from being at the centre of global focus and turned to grey after sticking to dark tones for several years.”
SEOUL (Reuters) - The light-grey suit and matching tie that  North Korea’s [TGT]donned for  [TGT]  New Year’s address was likely carefully calculated to project a softer  more relaxed image to go with  [TGT]  surprise offer for talks with Seoul.
Departing from  his  usual black or navy suits  [TGT] gave  [TGT]  televised speech wearing black-rimmed glasses and slicked back hair  speaking fluently and rarely looking down to read as  [TGT]  raised the possibility of sending a delegation to the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea.
“In this New Year’s address  North Korea seems to have taken great pains with the image portrayed by Kim Jong Un ” said an analysis by the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification after  [TGT] ’s speech.
“The change from the previous dark Maoist suits to a softer toned grey Western-style suit likely aimed to underpin peace  which  Kim  stressed in  his  address ” the institute said.
It added that  [TGT] ’s style “reflected a relaxed state of mind” that likely resulted from  his  previous announcement that North Korea had achieved its nuclear ambitions.
After a year dominated by fiery rhetoric and escalating tensions over Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme   Kim  declared Monday that  his  country was “a peace-loving and responsible nuclear power” and called for lowering military tensions and improving ties with the South.
 Kim  also said  he  was open to dialogue with Seoul  prompting South Korea on Tuesday to propose high-level talks between the two countries on Jan. 9 at the border truce village of Panmunjeom.
FILE PHOTO: [TGT] waves to people attending a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of country's founding father  [TGT] Sung in Pyongyang  April 15  2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj
Analysts said the North Korean leader’s speech on Monday showed more confidence compared to previous years  his old habit of swaying from side to side while making speeches nearly undetectable. In his first New Year’s address as North Korea’s leader in 2013   Kim  frequently sounded short of breath  his voice wavering from time to time.
 Kim  made  his  maiden public address in April 15  2012 at a parade marking the centenary of  his  grandfather’s birth. This year  there was none of the uneasiness that marked that speech and  his  subsequent public addresses.
 His  voice   his  hair shaved on the side  as well as  his  light-colored Western-style suit and glasses  were also reminiscent of  his  grandfather  Kim Il Sung  according to defectors and analysts. Kim Il Sung had a more gregarious and popular image than  Kim Jong Un’s  reclusive father  Kim Jong Il.
 [TGT]has embraced New Year addresses as a chance to outline  [TGT]  policies and rally the North Korean people. Last year   [TGT]  used  [TGT]  speech to declare that North Korea was in the “final stages” of perfecting an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Kim Gun-hee  a consultant on image making and leadership  said the grey suit may have been designed to deflect some of the negative global attention  Kim ’s nuclear and missile tests have prompted.
“When we advise clients who are in tough situations or are surrounded by unfavourable rumours  we tell them to wear either white or grey ”  she  said.
“In the study of color psychology  white imbues innocence while grey tends to take attention away from you.  Kim  may have felt some pressure from being at the centre of global focus and turned to grey after sticking to dark tones for several years.”