A pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan reported Saturday that portraits of Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong-il had been removed from venues for international gatherings but remain in homes and other public areas.
Chosun Sinbo newspaper said that Kim recently ordered to take down his portraits and only hang those of his late father Kim Il-sung on walls of international conference sites in the communist state.
The paper cited a North Korean official as saying that the leader's instruction was to show utmost respect for his late father.