Are the North Koreans Taking Down the Dear Leader’s Portraits?

ITAR-TASS has this interesting report from an ambassador from the inside of the North Korean embassy in Moscow:

“A light rectangular spot and a nail in the wall were the only things that remained in the place where Kim Jong Il’s portrait had hung,” the agency cited the diplomat as saying.

Other diplomats said nothing had changed, and ITAR-TASS isn’t what I’d call the most reliable source. Still, the significance of those pictures in North Korean officialdom can’t be understated. This article by James Brooke of the NY Times (via streamload.com) recounts the official story of how teachers in Ryongchon sacrificed themselves to save Kim icons from the schools, leaving the relatively more expendable kids behind. If the portraits were indeed taken down, it could suggest the existence of dissent. More at NKZone.