Images For All Occasions

Last Saturday saw this blog mention North Korea's decision to issue a special set of commemorative stamps to mark the 60th anniversary of the intervention by Chinese troops in the Korean War next month.  It seems that the DPRK is also using its stamps to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of President Kim Il-sung (due to fall 2012).  Xinhua has published online images of the stamps, which depict various scenes from the President's life, including him leading troops and addressing North Korean citizens.  They will be in circulation from now until 2012, no doubt serving to try and legitimise Kim Jong-il's own rule of the country and to lend credence to the notion of his son (Kim Jong-un) succeeding him as leader of the nation.  What is even more certain is that the stamps represent only one of the first steps on the long road of activities that will celebrate the life of North Korea's Eternal President over the coming two years.  Kim Jong-il's regime will be looking to maximise the propaganda capital that can be gained from such events.