A portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has been taken down in the People's Cultural Palace, a major public building in Pyongyang. South Korean intelligence sources said the action was a public relations initiative undertaken by Kim aimed both at his own people and the outside world.
A photo in the October edition of the North Korean magazine, Chosun (Korea), acquired by South Korea's Joong-Ang Ilbo newspaper, shows that Kim's portrait, which had hung side by side with that of his father Kim Il-Sung, had been removed from the massive hall in the building. The photos provide the first confirmation of rumors that Kim's portraits have been taken down in public buildings in North Korea.
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Only a portrait of the senior Kim appeared in the very center of the wall [see above right], dismissing speculation that the removal of Kim Jong-Il' portrait may have been temporary before being replaced by a new one. Some defectors from North Korea had said in response to news reports about removed portraits, that they would be replaced by new ones in more ornate frames.
The North Korean magazine showed in its July edition that Kim Jong-Il's portrait remained on the wall [See above left], alongside his father's. The picture was taken in May.
A European diplomat in Seoul, who said he witnessed the sole picture of the senior Kim at the People's Cultural Palace during his visit to Pyongyang in early September, said the removal took place on or about July 8 which marked the 10th anniversary of the death of Kim Il-sung. He said portraits of the junior Kim were quietly taken down in several other public buildings.
A South Korean intelligence source also said that portraits of Kim Jong-Il had been taken down in several public buildings and hotels in Pyongyang, which were open to foreign visitors. "But as far as we know, North Koreans are not removing Kim's portraits in other places, such as factories, companies and home," he said.
"The removal of portraits are not happening across the country, but just at several public buildings foreigners are allowed to visit, as part of efforts to ease the cult worship image of him," a government official said.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry denied news reports of the removal of Kim's portraits from public offices, according to China's Xinhua news agency on Nov. 19. The Chinese official news agency quoted a ministry official as denying the reports as a "groundless fabrication."
The removal was a direct order from Kim Jong-Il, the intelligence official said. It is essentially a public relations initiative to demonstrate to North Koreans his filial duty to his deceased father as well as to improve his external image to a world which considers the deification of leaders bizarre, he said.
The issue of the portraits demonstrates the country's decades-long cult worship. When a massive explosion killed hundreds of North Koreans in a border city with China in April, Pyongyang's official media praised the "heroic deaths" of the people who rushed into collapsing or burning buildings to save "treasured" portraits of Kim Jong-Il.
Portraits of Kim and his deceased father are mandatory fixtures in every home, office, public buildings and factory in the country. All adults are required to wear lapel pins bearing images of one or both Kims.
Koh Yu-Hwan, a North Korea specialist at Dongguk University in Seoul, said the removal of his portraits seemed aimed at easing burdens on policy failures that led to economic troubles. "Mr. Kim is probably trying to re-establish an image as a down-to-earth leader, no longer with demi-god status like his father," he said.
The intelligence source and other government officials downplayed Japanese reports that North Korea's state media had dropped the honorific title — "Dear Leader" — to refer to Kim Jong-Il.
Tokyo-based Radio Press Inc. which monitors North Korea's state-run media, said on Nov. 18 that the North's official Central News Agency dropped the "Dear Leader" from its report of Kim's visit to an army unit, sparking speculation that he may be involved in a power struggle or his status was challenged.
But Seoul officials said there were no "unusual signs at all" in North Korea's power structure. There are no notable signs that Kim is in poor health, they said.
Kim has been given some 1,200 titles, they said, and the North's media for the most part continue to use the honorific title of "Dear Leader."
