KIM JONG UN North Korea’s young new leader, believed to be in his late 20s, is being much more open in dealing with his subjects than his father, Kim Jong Il, according to analysts who have monitored the transition in the country’s power structure. North Korean state media reports and video footage of “guidance visits” to schools, military bases and factories have revealed more warmth than the same tours made by Kim Jong Il. Analysts theorize it is a bid to bond with a people facing famine and international sanctions.

JOE BIDEN