North Korean propaganda machine goes into overdrive

North Korea's propaganda machine went into overdrive today as the isolated Communist state ratcheted up the personality cult surrounding the ruling Kim family.

State media described a series of supernatural phenomena following the death of Kim Jong-Il on Saturday, including a mysterious glow on top of revered site Mount Paekdu, the birthplace of the late leader according to North Korean legend.

State television has been dominated by gushing tributes to Kim Jong-il since his death following a heart attack was first announced on Monday.

Images of his son and successor Kim Jong-un have mostly shown him grieving over his father's body in the capital Pyongyang.

"They have been pushing the idea that Kim Jong-il was great for the revolution and, because we have Comrade Kim Jong-un, everything is going to be okay," said Chris Green, a journalist at Daily NK in Seoul, a news organisation with a network of informants inside North Korea.

The main daily newspaper in the country, Rodong Shimbun, printed a long editorial calling on the North Korean people to "rally, rally and rally behind great comrade Kim Jung-un and faithfully uphold his leadership".

State media this week have described the young Kim, 28, as a "great person born of heaven".

Although North Korea's propaganda machine spent years cultivating the image of now deceased Kim Jong-il ahead of the country's first dynastic succession in 1994, his sudden death on Saturday has left the country with less time to develop the personality cult around his son.

Kim Jong-un was only formally introduced to the North Korean public in September last year when he was elevated to a number of high-ranking positions.

"Since that time people have been exposed to him on television," said Green.

The authorities have also circulated a song about the young leader called 'Footstep' which makes the dynastic link between him, his father and grandfather, North Korea's first leader and 'eternal president' Kim Il-sung.

"This subtle way establishes the fact the successor is Kim Jong-un," said Eun Kyoung-kwon of Open Radio for North Korea, which attempts to undermine propaganda by broadcasting into the country from Seoul.