North Koreans who share same name as Kim Jong Un’s daughter are ordered to change it

North Korea’s government has reportedly ordered its residents who share the same name as the country’s leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter to change it.

The decision is thought to be an attempt to further cultivate a personality cult around the leader and his family. It is unclear how many individuals have been affected by this order, but it is not the first time that the North Korean regime has made such a demand. The article also notes the strict controls on personal freedoms and individual expression in North Korea.

North Korean authorities reportedly are forcing residents who share the same name as Kim Jong Un’s daughter, Ju-ae, to change their identities to something else.

The orders are part of the regime’s effort to build mystique around Kim Ju-ae, according to the South China Morning Post. She is believed to be between 9 and 10 years old.

A source told Radio Free Asia that in one northern province, a security official “summoned women registered with the resident registration division under the name ‘Ju-ae’ to the Ministry of Safety to change their names.”

One of those women was a 12-year-old girl, the source said.

“The Ministry of Safety’s resident registration department called the girl’s parents to the Ministry of Safety and forced her to change her name and change her birth certificate,” the source told Radio Free Asia.