SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong-un, has been appointed the supreme commander of North Korea's 1.1-million-strong military, the communist nation's media reported Saturday.

The decision, one of the clearest signs, at least outwardly, that Kim is rapidly solidifying power, came at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party on Friday, according to Pyongyang's official news agency, KCNA, monitored in Seoul.