Kim’s portrait is publicly displayed in North Korea. Here’s a look at what it means

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been publicly displayed along with those of his father and grandfather for the first time. Some experts say Kim Jong Un aims to elevate his status to a level similar to that of the past two leaders whose pictures hang in all North Korean homes and offices. Analysts also say Kim is bolstering his family’s rule as he grooms his daughter as an heir. Portraits of leaders are at the core of North Korea’s state-sponsored cult of personality that has buttressed the Kim family’s rule since the country’s foundation in 1948.