When supervising the rocket test on November 28, Kim Jong-un wore a leather jacket instead of the familiar Mao Zedong clothes.

A few days earlier, he wore an ivory long coat and a blue shirt when he was inspecting a military facility on Changrin Island, near the border with South Korea.

These changes have sparked speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has solidified his power and is seeking to build his own image, differentiating himself from his grandfather and father.

Kim came to power at the age of 27, after his father, leader Kim Jong-il passed away in December 2011. Since then, he has often followed the image of his father and grandfather, the Korean founder Kim Nhat Thanh. Kim Jong-un often wore Mao Zedong-style clothes with his hair pulled back, wearing horn-like glasses like his grandfather.

Kim Il Sung was credited with building North Korea into a relatively prosperous post-war nation in the 1950s. About two decades later, North Korea's GDP is estimated to surpass that of South Korea. Even the fugitives show admiration for Kim Nhat Thanh's leadership skills.

Observers estimate that Kim Jong-un tried to build an image similar to his father and grandfather during the early ruling, because at that time he had the difficult task of consolidating power in the ruling party, government and military - the organizations that Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong-il leaders have closely controlled over decades of personal experience and relationships.

Now that that goal has been achieved, "Kim Jong-un seems to try to build his own image as much as possible," said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University. , to speak.

For the past two years, Kim Jong-un has displayed a different style of leadership from his predecessors through diplomatic efforts with the United States, China, South Korea and Russia. He had three summit meetings with US President Donald Trump, including an impromptu meeting in the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Korean peninsulas in June.

The question that remains open is whether the change in Kim Jong-un's outfit will signal a major change in North Korea's foreign and military policies.

The process of denuclearization between Washington and Pyongyang has stalled since the work-level talks in Sweden in October, as the two sides still disagree over the size of denuclearization. as US interests can be given to North Korea.

North Korea has recently increased tensions on the peninsula with successive tests of short-range missiles, super-large rocket fireplanes and tough statements warning the US and South Korea. Pyongyang gives Washington a deadline until the end of this year to make a proposal that it can accept.

Setting the deadline gives North Korea little choice but to take some provocative action if the United States doesn't make a new proposal later this year. "North Korea is clearly very serious about deadlines because its tone is getting increasingly fierce and they are increasingly testing more weapons," said Go Myong-hyun, an expert from Asan Policy Research Institute.

"It is very unlikely that North Korea will let the deadline go by without any action," Go added.