North Korean officials sport Kim Jong-un pins for first time

SEOUL — North Korean officials wore pins with a portrait of Kim Jong-un in public for the first time in pictures released by the state media on June 30, the latest step in the development of a cult of personality about the leader.

The officials, speaking at a key meeting chaired by Kim of the reclusive state's ruling party, wore the typical party logo pin on the right lapel and, on the left chest, the pin with Kim's face against a flag-shaped red background.

The 10th plenary meeting of the eighth central committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, which reviews the party's performance for the first half of the year, began on June 28, state news agency KCNA said.

The Kim dynasty that has ruled North Korea since its founding after World War II has sought to strengthen its grip on power by building cults of personality around itself.

In an apparent push to solidify Kim's status as a leader equal to his father and grandfather, the North Korean media published photographs showing his portrait hanging prominently next to those of Kim Jong-il and national patriarch Kim Il Sung earlier in 2024.

In April, the music video for a propaganda song praising Kim Jong-un as a "friendly father" and a "great leader" was aired on the state-controlled Korean Central Television, which has been banned by South Korea.

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