Seoul: In a bid to the development of a cult of personality of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un, the state officials wore pins with a portrait of the leader in public, which was a first. The development got the public's attention after the state media reported pictures of the same on Sunday, Reuters reported.
The officials wore the badge to a key meeting chaired by Kim, where they wore the typical party logo pin on the right lapel and the leader's face against a flag-shaped red background on the left.
The state news agency KCNA said that the 10th Plenary Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea began on Friday. The central committee meeting reviews the party's performance for the first half of the year.
It was Kim's dynasty that ruled North Korea since it was founded in post-World War II. It sought to strengthen its grip on the power of the nation by creating cults of personality around itself.
Earlier this year, the media published photographs of Kim's portrait hanging prominently next to those of Kim Jong Il and national patriarch Kim Il Sung, which is seen as a push to solidify Kim's status as a leader equal to his father.
A propaganda music video was released in April, which praised Kim Jong Un as a "friendly father" and a "great leader". The video was aired by state-controlled Korean Central Television. This was banned by South Korea.
Last week, North Korea extended its support to Russia in the war with Ukraine, calling it a legitimate act of self-defence by Russia and criticizing the US for its military support of Ukraine. This move strengthens the growing military ties between Moscow and Pyongyang.
"If the rulers of the US persist in recklessly pushing their war machine into Ukraine for a proxy war against Russia, it will inevitably provoke a stronger response from Russia," Pak Jong Chon, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea, said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.