North Korea unveils Kim’s first official portrait

North Korea has unveiled what's thought to be the first official painting of Kim Jong-un, lifting the leader to a new level of personality cult.

While his predecessors' portraits are all across the country, Kim Jong-un has long been styled as a successor rather than a leader in his own right.

His role has seen a gradual change over time though, very much helped by a string of international visits in 2018.

The huge new picture was on display during a visit by Cuba's president.

Earlier all pictures we saw of Kim were photographs, not paintings, or unofficial fan art.

The new larger-than-life artwork shows him smiling, looking slightly to his left, while wearing a Western style suit and tie.

Symbolism and imagery are all-important in North Korea: portraits of Kim Jong-un's father and grandfather portraits hang in every building in the country.

Since assuming power in 2011, the current leader has been styled more like a successor and disciple of his two overbearing predecessors, rather than an equal yet.

Kim Jong-un moved to the helm of the country rather abruptly when his father died unexpectedly in 2011.

He was relatively inexperienced and had not yet been built up as a future leader.

While his father pursued a military-first agenda, Kim Jong-un has pushed for a two-track policy to develop nuclear weapons as well as the economy.

So far the portrait is only been on shown on TV during the state visit to Pyongyang of Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Cane.

It's not yet clear how Pyongyang will handle the display in the future or whether it will make a regular appearances.

Whether it will indeed become a propaganda staple like the portraits of the father and grandfather remains to be seen.