Details reveal Kim Jong-un's force movements | World

It is mandatory for all adults in North Korea to wear a lapel pin bearing the image of state founder Kim Il-sung, his son Kim Jong-il, or both.

However, no pins have been seen with the third generation of Kim, the country's current leader Kim Jong Un, until now.

Public photos are rare.

State media on Sunday published photos of North Korean officials wearing badges with the dictator at a party meeting, Newsweek reported.

Few question Kim Jong Un's grip on power, but public images honoring the 40-year-old have become rare since he seized power 11 years ago.

However, he has recently taken steps to step out of the shadow of his father and grandfather and foster a cult of personality around him — and the lapel pins are seen as further steps in that direction, Newsweek writes.

dilemma

In May this year, his portrait, alongside those of past leaders, was displayed publicly for the first time at a school run by the Communist Workers’ Party. In January, Kim Jong-un announced that he would no longer seek peaceful reunification with South Korea, a policy pursued for decades by both Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung.

Ahn Kyung-soo, director of dprhealth.org, a website focused on health issues in North Korea, believes it would be difficult for the dictator to go further because it would ultimately risk undermining the legitimacy of the ruling family's rule.

– Kim Jong Un is in a bind. He told Newsweek that he wants to break away from the legacy of his father and grandfather but can't do it.