North Korea¡¯s cult of personality has entered a new phase by elevating the portrait of Kim Jong Un next to that of his grandfather and father, showing him in a similar status as its two former leaders regarded as demigods at home.

Photos released by official media Wednesday showed Kim speaking to officials at a classroom of the new Central Cadres Training School under the portraits of himself, state founder Kim Il Sung and his father Kim Jong Il. The school will serve as the ¡°highest institute¡± for training cadres of the ruling Workers¡¯ Party, the Korean Central News Agency said.

¡°It marks the first time the North Korean official media has shown portraits of the three leaders hung together,¡± South Korea¡¯s Unification Ministry, which manages relations with Pyongyang, said in a statement. It was not immediately clear if the three portraits were being displayed side by side in other places, such as in homes nationwide.