In Korean kingdom, there shall be no Kim Jong-uns but one
Reverence toward the name of the young god-king in Pyongyang means that newborn babes and ordinary citizens must change their name, if shared with Kim.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles as he provides field guidance to the flight drill of female pilots of pursuit planes of the KPA Air and Anti-Air Force.
Reuters/KCNA
Seoul, South Korea
In North Korea, there can be only one Kim Jong-un.
A South Korean official said Wednesday that Pyongyang forbids its people from using the same name as the young absolute leader.
The measure appears meant to bolster a personality cult surrounding Kim, who took over after the death of his dictator father Kim Jong-il in late 2011. Seoul officials have said Pyongyang also banned the use of the names of Kim Jong Il and the country's founder, Kim Il-sung.
The South Korean official said Kim Jong-il in early 2011 ordered citizens with the same name as his son to get new names and demanded that authorities reject birth registrations of newborn babies with the name.
The official requested anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly. He refused to disclose how the information was obtained.
Kim Jong-un made his international debut in late 2010 when he was awarded a slew of top political jobs. His father, who reportedly suffered a stroke in 2008, was seen as moving fast to hand over power so his family could rule for a third generation.
Kim Jong-il inherited power in 1994 when his father Kim Il-sung died.
North Korea enforces strict, state-organized public reverence of the Kim family, which serves as the backbone of the family's authoritarian rule of the impoverished country. The North is locked in a long-running international standoff over its nuclear ambitions.
All North Koreans are required to wear lapel pins bearing the images of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il and to put the leaders' portraits on the walls of their homes. Their birthdays are considered the most important holidays in North Korea.