Seoul: North Korea has been churning out portraits of leader Kim Jong-II`s youngest son as the communist state moves closer to a dynastic succession, an anti-Pyongyang activist said on Saturday.
Lee Young-Hwa, head of the Tokyo-based Rescue North Korean People Urgent Action Network (RENK), told Yonhap news agency that the North is preparing to distribute Kim Jong-Un`s portraits as it readies to present him publicly as a successor.
"We`ve received information that the North has prepared Kim Jong-Un`s portraits en masse," Lee told Yonhap.
"The North is apparently in a hurry to declare Kim Jong-Un as the successor," he said.
He said the North might distribute the portraits in time for the birthday of North Korea`s deceased founder Kim II-Sung on April 15.
Portraits of Kim II-Sung and current leader Kim Jong-II, which decorate the walls of every classroom, government building, workplace and home, are the most visible signs of the personality cult around the father and the son.
South Korea`s spy agency director Won Se-Hoon reportedly told the National Assembly`s intelligence committee last month that the North was spreading songs aimed at encouraging loyalty to Kim Jong-Un.
PTI
