Report: North Korea 'talks up' Nobel Peace Prize for Kim Jong Un

Feb. 20 (UPI) -- North Koreans are taking greater interest in the Nobel Peace Prize and leader Kim Jong Un's potential for receiving the award ahead of the second summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim.

A North Korean source based in Pyongyang told Radio Free Asia this week that as the summit date approaches, interest in the Nobel prize is growing in North Korea.

Curiosity about the prize awarded annually in Norway may have begun after North Korean authorities launched a series of lectures, where they raised the possibility Kim could be awarded the peace prize, RFA's source said.

A North Korean source in North Hamgyong Province separately confirmed local interest in the Nobel Peace Prize is on the rise.

"The sudden and unexpected interest in the Nobel Peace Prize, ahead of the second U.S.-North Korea summit, is a result of continued Kim Jong Un idolization and authorities telling people the 'world is in the midst of praising the great man [Kim]'," the source said, according to RFA.

As North Korea promotes Kim through state-sanctioned events, it is also attacking a recent decision in Seoul to pay more for U.S. forces on the peninsula.

Pyongyang propaganda service Uriminzokkiri condemned the deal on Wednesday, and claimed the South is paying $919 million as part of the new deal; South Korea will pay $890 million, according to Seoul's foreign ministry last week.

North Korea propaganda also claimed South Korea is "suffering" under U.S. demands, a reference to Trump's demand Seoul "pay more" for troops.