SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — For the first time, North Korean officials have been seen wearing lapel pins with the image of leader Kim Jong Un, another sign the North is boosting his personality cult to the level bestowed on his late dictator father and grandfather.
North Koreans are required to wear pins over their hearts which for decades bore images of either the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung, or his son Kim Jong Il, or both. The existence of pins dedicated to Kim Jong Un had not been verified until state media published photos on Sunday showing officials wearing his pins at a ruling Workers’ Party meeting.
The pins are part of a state-sponsored mythology surrounding the Kim family which treats Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il like gods. They are memorialized with numerous statues across North Korea, their birthdays are two of the country’s main holidays and their portraits are hung in all homes and offices.
Few question current leader Kim Jong Un's hold on power, but few images honoring the 40-year-old have been displayed in public since he took power in late 2011 upon his father's death. Recently, however, he has begun taking steps to boost his own personality cult while also trying to further move out of the shadow of his father's and grandfather's legacies.
In May, his portrait was publicly displayed along with those of the two other Kims for the first time at a Workers' Party-run training school. In January, Kim announced he will no longer pursue peaceful unification with South Korea, a decadeslong policy cherished by his father and grandfather. Observers also say North Korea appears to be refraining from using terms like “the Day of Sun,” a reference to the April 15 birthday of Kim Il Sung.
“The latest series of efforts to idolize Kim Jong Un is assessed as a move to dilute his predecessors while establishing his authority as a leader” different from them, Kim Inae, a deputy spokesperson for South Korea’s Unification Ministry, told reporters Monday.
She said Kim is also likely trying to boost internal solidary behind his leadership as he grapples with economic hardships and the influence of South Korean pop culture.
Ahn Kyung-su, head of dprkhealth.org, a website focusing on health issues in North Korea, said Kim Jong Un is trying to phase out the symbols representing the legacies of his predecessors to promote his own era. But as the third-generation leader in the Kim family, he will find it difficult to push too far because that would weaken the legitimacy of its dynastic rule, said Ahn, who has interviewed many North Korean defectors and closely monitors North Korean state media.
“Kim Jong Un is in a dilemma. He wants to stay away from his father's and grandfather's legacies more but he can't do so," Ahn said.
He said North Koreans are now expected to wear Kim Jong Un pins.
Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said the wearing of Kim Jong Un pins isn't surprising, given that he has been consolidating his rule for over a decade.
“The question is, now that Kim has stepped out from the shadow of his predecessors, whether he will undertake policy adjustments to break with North Korea’s past economic failures,” Easley said.
In recent years, North Korea's fragile economy has suffered further setbacks because of strict pandemic restrictions, persistent U.N. sanctions and its own mismanagement. During a Workers' Party meeting on Saturday, Kim spoke about “some deviations obstructing” efforts to improve the country’s economic status, according to state media.
Some experts say Kim's moves are also related to his reported push to make his preteen daughter his heir in another hereditary power transfer.
South Korea's spy agency said in January that it sees Kim's daughter, reportedly named Ju Ae and aged about 11, as her father’s likely heir apparent. But some analysts say it's still too early to call her Kim's successor, citing her age and North Korea's male-dominated hierarchy.
This photo provided Monday, July 1, 2024, by the North Korean government shows that a senior official wears lapel pins with the image of Kim Jong Un during a ruling party’s meeting in Pyongyang Sunday, June 30, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
This photo provided Sunday, June 29, 2024, by the North Korean government, North Korean leaders Kim Jong Un attends a ruling party’s meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea Friday, June 28. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads: "KCNA" which is the abbreviation for Korean Central News Agency. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
This photo provided Monday, July 1, 2024, by the North Korean government shows that a senior official wears lapel pins with the image of Kim Jong Un during a ruling party’s meeting in Pyongyang Sunday, June 30, 2024. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
LUCKNOW, India (AP) — Authorities say massive overcrowding, insufficient exits, and other factors contributed to a deadly stampede at a religious festival in Northern India that killed at least 121 people.
Five more people died on Wednesday morning, local official Manish Chaudhry said, and 28 were still being treated in hospital.
The stampede happened on Tuesday afternoon in a village in Hathras district in Uttar Pradesh state, as large crowds rushed to exit a makeshift tent. It was not immediately clear what sparked the panic.
Authorities are investigating what happened and have launched a search for a Hindu guru known locally as Bhole Baba, as well as other organizers.
Deadly stampedes are relatively common at Indian religious festivals, where large crowds gather in small areas with shoddy infrastructure and few safety measures.
Overcrowding, poor planning and bad weather were among factors noted as contributing to the disaster.
Some quarter of a million people turned up for an event that was permitted to accomodate 80,000, held in a tent set up in a muddy field. It's not clear how many made it inside the tent.
Utter Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath told reporters that a crowd of devotees surged towards the preacher to touch him as he was descending from the stage, causing chaos as volunteers struggled to intervene.
An initial report from the police suggests at this point thousands of people thronged toward the exit, where many slipped on the muddy ground, causing them to fall and be crushed by the crowds. A witness said other people fell into flooded ditches, causing more deaths. Most of the dead were women.
The preacher’s Sri Jagar Guru Baba organization had spent more than two weeks preparing for the event.
Devotees from across the state, which with over 200 million people is India's most populous, traveled to the village, with rows of parked vehicles stretching three kilometers.
Experts said the event violated safety norms. “The function was held in a makeshift tent without ensuring multiple exit routes. Typically, there should be eight to 10 well-marked exits opening into open areas,” said Sanjay Srivastava, a disaster management expert.
Instead, officials said it appeared there was only one small exit in the tent.
On Tuesday, hundreds of relatives had gathered at local hospitals, wailing in distress at the sight of the dead, placed on stretchers and covered in white sheets on the grounds outside. Buses and trucks also carried dozens of victims into morgues.
Sonu Kumar was one of many local residents who helped lift and move dead bodies after the accident. He criticized the preacher: “He sat in his car and left. And his devotees here fell one upon another and some were in the water.”
“The screams were so heart-wrenching. We have never seen anything like this before in our village,” Kumar added.
Binod Sokhna, who lost his mother, daughter and wife, wept as he walked out of a morgue on Wednesday.
“My son called me and said papa, mother is no more. Come here immediately. My wife is no more," he said, crying.
In 2013, pilgrims visiting a temple for a popular Hindu festival in central Madhya Pradesh state trampled each other amid fears that a bridge would collapse. At least 115 were crushed to death or died in the river.
In 2011, more than 100 Hindu devotees died in a crush at a religious festival in the southern state of Kerala.
Relatives and volunteers carry the bodies on stretchers at the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)
Relatives mourn next to the bodies of their relatives outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering in India rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo)
Women mourn next to the body of a relative outside the Sikandrarao hospital in Hathras district about 350 kilometers (217 miles) southwest of Lucknow, India, Tuesday, July 2, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering in India rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores.(AP Photo/Manoj Aligadi)
A woman watches members of a forensic team investigate the scene a day after a fatal stampede, in Fulrai village of Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Rain puddles are seen at the scene of a fatal stampede, in Fulrai village of Hathras district about 350 kilometers (220 miles) southwest of the state capital, Lucknow, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Police tape cordons off the scene a day after a fatal stampede, in Fulrai village of Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Members of a forensic team investigate the scene a day after a fatal stampede, in Fulrai village of Hathras district, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
People injured in a stampede receive treatment at Hathras district hospital, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
A man weeps while hugging the father-in-law of his 37-year-old sister Ruby, victim of a stampede, outside Hathras district hospital, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
A man mourns by the body of his 37-year-old sister Ruby, victim of a stampede, outside Hathras district hospital, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
Family members of 37-year-old Ruby, victim of a stampede, mourn after receiving her body from a mortuary as they prepare to leave for their hometown, outside Hathras district hospital, Uttar Pradesh, India, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Thousands of people at a religious gathering rushed to leave a makeshift tent, setting off a stampede Tuesday that killed more than hundred people and injured scores. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)
