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Kim Jong-un visited with members of a tank division in a photograph released Sunday by North Korea's official news agency. 
SEOUL, South Korea — President Lee Myung-bak of South Korea vowed on Monday to “deal strongly with any provocations” from the North, predicting a “big change” on the divided Korean Peninsula following the death of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, and his untested young son’s rise to power.
Follow @nytimesworld for international breaking news and headlines.In his nationally televised New Year’s speech, Mr. Lee did not elaborate on what change he foresaw. But policy-makers and analysts in the region are closely watching whether the designated successor in the North, Kim Jong-un, who is believed to be in his 20s, can consolidate his grip on power or will depend on caretakers and even regents to run the country, and how that might affect the country’s external policies, especially its nuclear weapons programs.
“A big change is expected in the situation on the Korean Peninsula and northeast Asia following the death of Chairman Kim Jong-il,” Mr. Lee said. “The situation on the Korean Peninsula is now entering a new turning point. But there should be a new opportunity amid changes and uncertainty.”
Mr. Lee’s warning against North Korean provocations came amid fears that the North, as it has in the past, might attempt military or terrorist attacks on the South to reinforce internal unity at a time of sensitive transition and to boost a new leader’s military credentials.
Over the weekend, North Korea made Mr. Kim supreme commander of the 1.2 million-member Korean People’s Army, a move considered crucial to protecting his power, and issued a series of statements calling Mr. Lee’s government in Seoul “national traitors” and vowing “punishment” and “revenge.”
Mr. Lee, though, kept open the possibility of inter-Korean talks despite North Korea’s repeated statements that it had no intention of dealing with his government.
“It is South and North Korea, before anyone else, that must try to achieve the task of building peace, security and reunification on the Korean Peninsula,” he said. “We are leaving a window of opportunity open. If North Korea shows its attitude of sincerity, a new era on the Korean Peninsula can be opened.”
He urged North Korea to suspend its nuclear activities, including its uranium-enrichment program, so that six-nation talks can resume to discuss eliminating its nuclear weapons programs in return for security guarantees and economic assistance for the North.
Mr. Lee’s speech came a day after North Korea issued a New Year’s Day statement that sought to cement support for Mr. Kim and his family’s dynastic rule. It also lambasted South Korea for not expressing official condolences for Kim Jong-il’s death.
In his speech, Mr. Lee called taming inflation and creating jobs two of his top goals as he entered his last year in office. (By law, he cannot run in the next presidential election in December.) He also apologized for a recent series of corruption scandals that implicated his former aides and relatives.
“While economic growth is important, I will focus on bringing consumer prices down,” he said, promising to keep inflation below 3.5 percent this year. South Korea’s consumer prices rose 4.2 percent last month.
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