N. Korea Stops Power Transfer Process

North Korea’s official daily carried a fabricated picture July 6 to propagate the slogan “Let’s share our commitment with our Dear Leader to the end,” news reports said yesterday.

This came amid rumors that the North stopped internal debate on leader Kim Jong Il’s successor since July.

The photo appearing on the bottom of the Rodong Shimun’s front page was taken when Kim visited reclaimed land in North Pyongan Province in early July. On a signboard there read “Let’s sacrifice our lives to protect the revolutionary leadership led by Dear Leader Kim Jong Il.” The slogan had appeared since the early 2000s.

The slogan “Let’s share out commitment with our Dear Leader to the end” was added above the other slogan using a graphic editing program. It looks as if the big signboard is placed on a bridge, but a closer look shows the picture was forged.

It is unusual for the North to fabricate Kim’s picture and put two slogans at the same time.

Experts said this is part of a North Korean propaganda campaign to urge the people to rally around their leader, given that the picture appeared in early July when Kim returned to the public spotlight to show he was in good health.

Slogans urging loyalty to Kim have changed with the times. “Serve the respectable supreme commander Kim Jong Il” has frequently appeared since the 2000s. Since hi’s health allegedly deteriorated in August last year, “Let’s sacrifice our lives to protect the revolutionary leadership led by Dear Leader Kim Jong Il” has frequently been used.

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