World beware 'dangerous' North Korea

The world faces a "dangerous period" as North Korea's ailing leader Kim Jong-Il tries to cement in his son as his successor, the CIA chief Leon Panetta said Sunday.

Making reference to North Korea's recent sinking of a South Korean warship at the loss of 46 lives, Panetta said US intelligence "shows that at the present time, there is a process of succession going on."

Barring a dramatic change of course, Kim's son Jong-Un seems set to inherit the reins of the hermit nation, which remains locked in confrontation with the West over its nuclear ambitions.

"Part of the skirmishes that are going on are in part related to trying to establish credibility for the son," Panetta said. "And that makes it a dangerous period."

Panetta said the same thing had happened when Kim took power.

"His son is very young. His son is very untested. His son is loyal to his father and to North Korea, but his son does not have the kind of credibility with the military, because nobody really knows what he's going to be like."

The CIA director, however, also said he did not think the provocations would result in military confrontation.

"For 40 years, we've been going through these kinds of provocations and skirmishes with a rogue regime. In the end, they always back away from the brink and I think they'll do that now," Panetta said.

North Korea announced Sunday that it was open to inter-Korean military talks to address the warship's sinking, though it also urged the United States to cease its involvement in the case.

The North, however, renewed a demand that the South first allow Pyongyang to carry out its own inspection to verify the facts of the case -- a condition Seoul has refused.

US President Barack Obama said on Saturday that he stood "foursquare" behind South Korean leader Lee Myung-Bak and scolded North Korea for its "irresponsible behavior."