The DPRK flag is lowered to half-mast at the embassy in Beijing on Monday. [Photo/Agencies]

Kim's death came as the US administration is expected to decide this week on whether to restart the stalled Six-Party Talks and provide food aid to Pyongyang. Unnamed US officials told the Associated Press that both issues are likely to be delayed.

Officials, requesting anonymity, said the US was particularly concerned about any changes in the military posture of the DPRK and the ROK but were hopeful that calm would prevail.

The AP report quoted the officials as saying that despite Kim's death a scheduled meeting between officials from Washington and Pyongyang in Beijing on Thursday will go ahead but decisions will be delayed.

Jin Canrong, deputy dean of the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, said Pyongyang may focus on its ties with Beijing and economic opening-up if the DPRK completes the power transfer "with stability and peacefully".

As for the missile launch, Jin said the move aimed to send a clear sign of deterrence, telling the ROK and the US not to take any risky moves that might trigger conflict.

Gary Li, head of current intelligence at Exclusive Analysis, a London-based think tank, told China Daily that Kim's death will "have a very substantial impact on regional security dynamics".

China, the ROK, Japan and the US will "be on high alert as to how Kim Jong-un will handle the reins of power", he said. A destabilized DPRK can destabilize the region, he said.

And in the eyes of Pyongyang, "any sudden military moves, such as the US reinforcing their troops in the ROK, run the risk of being viewed as the US gearing up for an invasion".

Glyn Ford, a close observer of the DPRK, who served five terms as a British member of the European Parliament and visited the country 26 times, told China Daily that this time offers a new opportunity for other countries to strengthen engagement with Pyongyang.

"I think the West needs swift engagement and of course, more patience."

Qin Zhongwei in Beijing, Liu Ce in Shenyang, Fu Jing in Brussels, Zhang Haizhou in London and agencies contributed to this story.