Seoul, Wednesday. In one of the world's most secretive states, the funeral of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il offered some clues about the likely powers behind the throne as his young son takes over, analysts said.Bare-headed and gloveless despite the snow, Kim Jong-Un walked alongside his father's hearse Wednesday along with six top military and party figures including his influential uncle Jang Song-Thaek.

Analysts said the line-up gave some initial indications about who would influence the untested leader in his late 20s as he takes charge of the impoverished and hungry but nuclear-armed nation.

"The funeral revealed some clues about who will stand beside Kim Jong-Un to protect him," Kim Yong-Hyun of Seoul's Dongguk University told AFP.He said senior ruling party officials Kim Ki-Nam and Choe Thae-Bok were symbolic figures representing the organisation itself.

"The other four including Jang are expected to play a key role in the next government under Jong-Un. They will serve as the protectors and sponsors of Jong-Un to prop up his regime."

As well as Jang, they were military chief Ri Yong-Ho; armed forces minister Kim Yong-Chun; and Kim Jong-Gak, who is in charge of military administration and organisation.Jang, who is married to Kim Jong-Il's sister, is a vice chairman of the National Defence Commission, the country's most powerful body.

Yang Moo-Jin of Seoul's University of North Korean Studies said the people walking beside the hearse "played a key role under Kim Jong-Il and are expected to become the pillars of the Kim Jong-Un regime".The funeral was seen as a way for the communist state to bolster the son's status as the new leader, said Baek Seung-Joo of the Korea Institute for Defence Analyses.

Jong-Un's presence was in contrast to the 1994 funeral of founding president Kim Il-Sung when Kim Jong-Il did not follow his father's motorcade, he pointed out."Jong-Un has a long way to go and may face challenges in the future if he tries to take a different path," Baek said.

"He knows he has no full public respect and is expected to stick to policies forged by his father, who has never given up nuclear weapons despite international pressure."Kim Jong-Il himself did not command the same respect given to his father, Baek said, and the intensity of public grief Wednesday was clearly different to 1994. (AFP)

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