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Kim Jong-un orders new statues to strengthen family cult

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Kim Jong-un orders new statues to strengthen family cult


Statue demands comes at the end of official three year mourning for death of Kim Jong-il

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Kim Jong-un orders every county to erect new statues of Kim family Photo: EPA/KCNA

By Julian Ryall, Tokyo
8:00AM GMT 09 Jan 2015

Every county in North Korea has been ordered to erect statues in honour of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il in order to reinforce the cult of obedience and reverence for the Kim family.

According to a defector interviewed by The Korea Herald, the order came directly from Kim Jong-un, who recently formally assumed all the key titles in North Korea after the conclusion of a three-year official mourning period after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il.

With questions being raised over the real degree of his control over the Workers' Party, the military and the general public, the fledgling dictator is attempting to cement his power base.

"This appears to be part of the efforts to idolise the ruling Kim dynasty," said the defector, who recently managed to escape from North Korea but who has not been named.

Toshimitsu Shigemura, a professor at Tokyo's Waseda University and an authority on North Korean affairs, says Kim Jong-un has been unable to stamp his authority on the state and "has not been able to win the respect of the people".

"The fact that he is ordering statues of his father and grandfather to be put up indicates that he is relying on their legacy for his own dignity and legitimacy," Mr Shigemura told The Telegraph.

Mr Kim also demanded extensive renovations to the Kumsusan Memorial Palace of the Sun, the massive and lavish mausoleum where his two predecessors lie in perpetual state after being embalmed.

One year after Mr Kim became head of state, satellite images discovered a propaganda slogan in his honour carved into a hillside in characters 65 feet high.

The message, in Ryanggang Province, read "Long Live General Kim Jong-un, the Shining Sun!"

Analysts say the order to erect more statues to the Kim family will be a heavy financial burden on an economy that is already struggling due to years of chronic mismanagement and international sanctions, although Mr Shigemura pointed out that the regime has no shortage of free labour.

 
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