DPRK watchers conclude that they have found evidence of the elevation of Kim Jong Un to the same status of his father.
Behold the furry hat!
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's son and heir Jong-un is already being treated with the same level of protocol as his father.
A senior South Korean government official last Friday said Kim Jong-un seems to have moved up to the same rank as his father. "The most conspicuous sign is that Kim Jong-un has started wearing a top-quality furry hat that only Kim Jong-il has been wearing so far," the official added.
UPDATE: Jonathan Dresner, always reliable for thoughtful and erudite commentary, notes that in this case the P'yôngyang-ologists are "likely to be right." Indeed, they may very well be. But even so, it is an interesting commentary that something which is so mundane and common in the West (at least in the cold parts) could be recognized as a sign of power and authority in the DPRK. I wonder whether prepared-for-the-cold foreign visitors are required to hand over their furry hats if they too closely resemble those of the Kims?
What's really weird about this, unlike the Kremlinology of the past, is that they're likely to be right. Given Kim Jong-Il's style, it's highly unlikely that the identical dress is accidental.
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