Late-Surging Kim Jong-un Looks to Rally Voters Ahead of Iowa Caucuses.

Kim Jong-un started the new year riding the wave of a strong finish in the last major poll before Tuesday's Iowa caucuses and looked to rally his supporters in a series of events on Sunday.

There were few surprises in Saturday's Des Moines Register poll - front runners Mitt Romney and Ron Paul finished 1-2 as they had in other polls during the week. But the Register poll showed Jong-un, who just weeks ago was nearly unknown outside the highest levels of the North Korean regime, pulling ahead of rivals Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry.

Jong-un's rise is the latest in a campaign-long series of votes testing crazed world-leaders against Romney, who is favored by establishment Republicans and has finished at or near the top in most polls since announcing his candidacy last summer.

Jong-un said he knew his turn would come.

"People have asked me 'When are you going to get your surge, you're not going anywhere'" the North Korean supreme leader and son of the late Kim Jong-Il said Sunday at a diner in rural Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. "I said my surge is going to come on January 3rd after the people of Iowa submit to my powerful army and nuclear weapons. Death to America."

While Jong-un is benefiting from the buzz of poll results, other candidates are taking notice and have sharpened their criticism of him in recent days.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry was the front-runner last summer, but was eclipsed following a series of debate fumbles. Perry took a moment on Sunday to detail the differences between the young North Korean leader and himself.

"There are a lot of differences between myself and Kim Jong-un, as Michele (Bachmann) pointed out he's young and untested. He inherited his position - he didn't work for it. I'm going to let him explain to the American people why they should just give him the job because of who his father was. That's not being fiscally conservative. He's just another out-of-touch Pyongyang insider and career despot."

Jong-un has not disclosed what will happen if he loses Tuesday's caucuses but insiders speculate he may endorse Bachmann.