NK iconizing heir apparent in China, o`seas missions

North Korea is stepping up efforts to iconize heir apparent Kim Jong Un even among its foreign missions and nationals overseas. Kim is vice chairman of the Central Military Committee of the North`s ruling Workers’ Party.

○ N. Koreans in China pledge loyalty to Kim Jong Un

The Dong-A Ilbo acquired the February issue of the monthly “Baekdu-Hanna,” which mostly caters to North Korean nationals living in China. The monthly suggested that North Koreans there wrote congratulatory letters to Kim on Jan. 6, two days before his birthday.

Soon after Kim emerged as successor at a party convention in September last year, North Korean diplomats overseas and people engaged in trade sent letters pledging their loyalty to him. Pyongyang is now mobilizing North Korean residents in China in the campaign to lionize him.

Published under the supervision of North Korean authorities, the monthly is distributed to an estimated 3,000 North Koreans in China in the second half of every month. Multiple sources said Kim appeared in two to three magazines distributed to North Korean nationals for the first time last month.

"Vice Chairman’s News" carried by Baekdu-Hanna comprised two stories with photos. One was entitled, “Staging a campaign by the coalition of (North Korean) nationals in China to collect and send letters on the occasion of the birthday of the Full General and Intelligent Compatriot Kim Jong Un, vice chairman of the Central Military Committee of the (North Korean) Workers’ Party,” which suggested the mailing of mass congratulatory letters to him on Jan. 6.

The other was entitled, “A seminar was held on the occasion of Full General Compatriot Kim Jong Un’s birthday on Jan. 8." The article contained expressions such as, “Let’s keep the (North) Korean Workers’ Party as a perpetual party of (the late) Dear Leader Kim Il Sung,” and, “Let’s put another great figure who looks the same as Dear Leader at the forefront of the revolution.”

The articles suggested Kim Jong Un’s name in bold characters like the names of his father and grandfather, emphasizing that he is on par with them.

○ Patriotic pictures posted on embassy building walls to iconize Kim

Pictures posted in the public bulletin at the external walls of the North Korean Embassy in Beijing were replaced. The bulletin had primarily showcased photos of Kim Jong Un`s father and incumbent North Korean leader Kim Jong Il touring sites.

The new postings show more than 20 pictures of the late Kim Il Sung’s adolescence placed at the center, however. The pictures are images of his youth, when he declared the establishment of the Workers’ Party on Oct. 10, 1945.

Kim Il Sung as shown in these pictures bears a strong resemblance to Kim Jong Un, something which Pyongyang has frequently publicized lately. The junior Kim`s ringlet-style hair, the direction of his sight in these photos, and their photographic angles are almost identical to that of his late grandfather.

When publicizing pictures, North Korea generally releases them under strict control in a unified fashion. As such, Pyongyang is apparently attempting to use Kim Il Sung`s memory and image to promote Kim Jong Un by using the pictures at its foreign missions worldwide.

mungchii@donga.com