In recent months, the North Korean authorities have handed out honors to hundreds of people deemed to have performed a distinguished service to the state, notably many of the top individuals involved in long-rang missile and nuclear development and testing. However, this excessive largesse is not impressing the general populace.

A source from North Hamkyung Province told Daily NK on the 26th, “They’re giving out the ‘Hero of the Republic’ title to this person and that person; it’s like those stars they give out in kindergarten. So, people’s response to that is to ask whether we can really call them heroes of the Republic when a few hundred were made all at once.”

“One man who has received the title said to me, ‘Before, even if you had lost both legs you wouldn't dare think about being made a Hero of the Republic, but nowadays even that has degenerated into a gift given out by one individual [Kim Jong Eun]."

“Provincial cadres feel the same; that there has never before been a time when the title of hero felt so much like it was worth nothing,” the source went on. “You could add together all the heroes from the countries in the Second World War and you still wouldn’t have as many heroes as we have now.”

It used to be the case that if a single large enterprise was lucky enough to have a single worker receive a state honor it would be a source of pride for the entire entity; however, that meaning has now disappeared, the source claimed.

“How exactly do missiles and nuclear tests help improve our lives? This is what people in the market want to know,” a second source from northerly Hoiryeong said, asking, “They have invited the nuclear scientists up to Pyongyang for a party and given them these medals, so what exactly are they giving us?”

A few more than 200 people have thus far been handed the ‘Hero of the Republic’ title for their role in either the December 12th long-range rocket launch or February 12th nuclear test.