April 25, 2024
Analysis

North Korea completes erasure of Kim Jong Un’s ‘supreme commander’ symbol

Removal of special red flag from guard post, calendars normalizes Kim’s military leadership under state flag

North Korea appears to have completely removed displays of a key military emblem symbolizing Kim Jong Un’s personal role as “supreme commander” of the country’s armed forces, NK News analysis reveals, finishing a process that began in 2020.

The supreme commander's red flag and emblem were removed from official DPRK calendars in 2022 for the first time since Kim came to power, and a guard post at the inter-Korean border stopped flying the flag over this past winter as well. 

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