North Korea spends millions on Kim cult: report
Purchase this article for republication
Buy SPH photosSEOUL (AFP) - North Korea spent US$41.5 million this year promoting the personality cult surrounding the ruling Kim dynasty, a South Korean government report said on Thursday.
A cool US$9.5 million was dropped on new statues of founder Kim Il-Sung and his late son Kim Jong-Il in six separate places, the Unification Ministry said, citing calculations from South Korean civilian experts.
Some US$32 million went on giant frescoes of the two leaders that were painted in halls in 400 different locations during the year, the report said.
Pictures of the two Kims hang inside every North Korean home, while their bronze likenesses can be seen everywhere across the impoverished nation.
