North Korea to add Kim Jong Un's face to loyalty badges

SEOUL, July 8 (UPI) -- North Korean officials devoted to Kim Jong Un are to be awarded with a new loyalty badge that includes a portrait of the North Korean leader.

The badges currently feature North Korea founder Kim Il Sung and his son, the late Kim Jong Il, and are given exclusively to members of the North Korean elite, South Korean news outlet Newsis reported.

The addition of Kim Jong Un to the dual portraits of his father and biological grandfather is a sign the state is launching a full-scale idolization of the current leader.

An unidentified source familiar with the matter told South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo that Pyongyang's Mansudae Art Studio was working on the creation of a new loyalty badge in preparation for the Korean Workers' Party's 70th anniversary on Oct. 10.

Kim is planning to distribute the new badges to 3,000 priority members of the Workers' Party, as well as to youth members, the source said.

The general population is banned from wearing loyalty badges, as it denotes status. But the badges have reportedly been used as currency in impoverished North Korea.

The report follows announcements from North Korea state media that Kim paid his respects to Kim Il Sung at the founder's mausoleum, also known as the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun.

The former Kim died 21 years ago on July 8, 1994.

Kim attended the ceremony, with Pyongyang's military top brass in attendance.