In a first, North Koreans seen wearing Kim Jong-un pins

North Koreans wear pins of Kim family members, with Kim Jong Un now included, as part of state mythology.

For the first time, North Korean officials have been seen wearing lapel pins with the image of leader Kim Jong-un, another sign the North is boosting his personality cult to the level bestowed on his late father and grandfather.

North Koreans are required to wear pins over their hearts which for decades bore images of either the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung, or his son Kim Jong-il, or both. The existence of pins dedicated to Mr. Kim Jong-un had not been verified until state media published photos on Sunday showing officials wearing his pins at a ruling Workers’ Party meeting.

Few question Mr. Kim Jong-un’s hold on power, but few images honouring the 40-year-old have been displayed in public since he took power in late 2011 upon his father’s death. Recently, however, he has begun taking steps to boost his own personality cult.

In May, his portrait was publicly displayed along with those of the two other Kims for the first time at a Workers’ Party-run training school. In January, Mr. Kim Jong-un announced he will no longer pursue peaceful unification with South Korea, a decadeslong policy cherished by his father and grandfather.

“The latest series of efforts to idolise Kim Jong-un is assessed as a move to dilute his predecessors while establishing his authority as a leader”, Kim Inae, a deputy spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, told presspersons on Monday.