A half year has passed since the Dec. 17, 2011, death of former North Korean leader Kim Jong Il. The "military first" policy is his legacy. North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong Un, his youngest son, should pursue the path of giving priority to improving the well-being of the North Korean people. Such a policy will help stabilize not only the East Asian security environment but also North Korea itself in the end.

Mr. Kim has consolidated his power since his father's death. He was elected first secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and appointed chairman of the party's Central Military Commission on April 11. The Korean Central News Agency on April 13 reported that he had been elected first chairman of the powerful National Defense Commission.

His ability as a national leader is being tested. Pyongyang has been censured by the international community for its April 13 failed attempt to launch a satellite, a suspected covert test of its long-range missile technology.