He will always be the 'Dear Leader' to me

I've avoided talking about the rumors surrounding the apparent removal of Kim Jong-il's pictures from some public buildings in North Korea (of course, the Marmot has been all over it).

But, now it seems that not only are the rumors true, but that the Dear Leader is no longer the Dear Leader (from CNN, the source for the pic on the right): 

Radiopress said the North's Korean Central News Agency and the Korean Central Broadcast referred to Kim not as "Dear Leader," but as "general secretary of the Worker's Party of Korea," or "chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission and supreme commander of the Korean People's Army."

It this a sign that the dirty commies are losing their grip or that we are looking at some kind of creeping coup?  Experts don't seem to think so: 

"We believe the change was made at his will to soften his image as a leader of a personality cult, although it is hard to determine what his real intentions are," said Radiopress editor Shinya Kato.

"But we do not believe it was a sign of coup or related to his loss of power."

Experts quoted in the piece say that this might be a move to lessen public hatred of Kim by making him less ubiquitous.  If true, I guess the theory is that if Kim doesn't control every part of people's lives, they can't blame him if they are reduced to eating tree bark.

As expected, the Chosun Ilbo is jumping all over this one.  Check out these:

Where Have All Kim Jong-il's Portraits Gone?

North Korean Media Drop Kim Jong-il's 'Dear Leader' Title

What Do the 'Strange Signs' in North Korea Mean?

Rumors Fly Concerning State of Affairs in North Korea

As much as I would like to hope that this is the first step towards the end of North Korea, I'm not holding my breath.

Comments

[jtb-in-texas]

Do you think this means I might be able to visit Kaesong and Wonsan without being shot?

[Kim Chong-il]

You can visit Chonji on blessed Mount Paekdu if you bring enough dollars, cowboy.

[Ralph]

What does all of this speculation about trivial items like missing portraits mean in the context of more serious international developments like the deepening quagmire of the US in Iraq? Not long ago more serious incidents like the train explosion and the large explosions on the NK-China border also were the objects of frenzied speculation about NK secret coups or nuclear weapons tests.