G20 Seoul Summit 'May Test Relations with New N.Korean Leadership'

The upcoming G20 Seoul Summit may offer a "litmus test" of the newly installed North Korean leadership, South Korean officials told London's Financial Times. As the November gathering will be one of Seoul's biggest "showcase event" in history, North Korea may resort to its tradition of making provocative gestures in response to shows of force in the South.

Officials told the FT the G20 meeting could reveal the predilections of the new Kim Jong-un power block.

Meanwhile the BBC reported that this week's appointment of the heir apparent may be a move to consolidate the Workers Party's control over the traditionally more dominant military. The British publication further noted that China may be the "silent hand" pushing the party to take greater hold.

Analysts say China would like to keep North Korea as a buffer zone with the west and the latest signs have pointed to China's desire to develop the North in line with its own form of successful state-run capitalism.