North Korea bans citizens from using name Kim Jong Un

PYONGYANG, North Korea, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- North Korea's citizens have been ordered not to take the name of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and, if already bearing the same name, to "voluntarily" change it.

The decree was issued in January 2011by then-leader Kim Jong Il and sought to protect the authority of his son and anointed successor, Kim Jong Un. The internal document, titled "a task to achieve," was reported Wednesday in South Korean press.

According to the order, parents were not allowed to register their newborns as "Kim Jong Un" or "Jong Un," and those with the same name were asked to change it. It is unclear to what extent such name changes were truly voluntary.

Similar name bans have been issued for decades by the Kim dynasty. North Koreans have for years not been allowed to take the name of the current leader's father and grandfather, "Kim Jong Il" and "Kim Il Sung."