Kim Jong-un has removed portraits of his father and grandfather and is ordering officials to promote the ideology of 'Kimjongunism...
Kim Jong-un has removed portraits of his father and grandfather and is ordering officials to promote the ideology of 'Kimjongunism' as he bids to escape from the shadow of his ancestors.
The North Korean dictator, 37, has removed pictures of Kim Il-sung, the country's revered founder, and his predecessor as supreme leader, Kim Jong-il, from official buildings in Pyongyang.
South Korea's spy agency say the term 'Kimjongunism' is being promoted in government circles and Kim is being referred to in state media as 'Great Leader', a term normally reserved for his grandfather Kim Il-sung.
Kim Jong-un has removed portraits of his father and grandfather and is ordering officials to promote the ideology of 'Kimjongunism'
Humility for predecessors has been a staple of the Kim family dynasty and the move is unprecedented, experts said.
But Kim Il-sung did ban works by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin in his own bid to sideline his ideological forebears and create his own legacy.
The new change suggests Kim is very confident of his grip on power just a month before the tenth anniversary of his promotion to ruler, The Times reported.
Fyodor Tertitskiy, a North Korea specialist at Kookmin University in Seoul, told NK News: 'The signal cannot be clearer.
Kim Il-sung (pictured in 1984) banned works by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin in his own bid to sideline his ideological forebears and create his own legacy
'Kim Jong-un does not like certain aspects of the system that his father and grandfather have forged — specifically the one tying the successor's legitimacy to his deference to his predecessors. The current leader wants to be his own autocrat.'
'Kimjongunism' has not been cited by official North Korean media but it has been detected by South Korean spies.
The National Intelligence Service briefed MPs in Seoul about the developments last week.
'Kimilsungism' was previously used to describe the ideology of Kim's grandfather in the 1970s.
The North Korean dictator, 37, has removed pictures of Kim Il-sung, the country's revered founder, and his predecessor as supreme leader, Kim Jong-il (pictured in 2005)
During the following decade, the term 'Kimilsungism-Kimjongilism' was used to describe the partnership between the country's founder and his heir apparent.
The country's state ideology is 'juche' meaning self-reliance and describes: 'Kim Il-sung's original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought.'
Kim's two predecessors' belief systems also lend their names to flowers, leading to questions over what Kimjongunism will choose.
The Kimilsungia is a purple orchie while Kimjongilia is a begonia.
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