North Koreans are seen wearing Kim Jong Un pins for the first time as his personality cult grows

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 build his own personality cult while also trying to further move out of the shadow of his father's and grandfather's legacies.