North Korea Seeks Image Makeover; Kim Jong Un to Permit Earrings, Cellphones, Pizza

Seeking an image makeover for himself and his impoverished, rogue nation, North Korea's youthful supreme leader is implementing some new social policies.

Among them: Allowing women to wear pants, platform shoes and earrings, making mobile phones available, and endorsing previously banned foods like pizza.

Kim Jong Un, 28, who took over after the death of Kim Jong Il last year, is also giving kids free trips to zoos and amusement parks. What a guy, right?

Following in the footsteps of his late grandfather, the country's founder Kim Il Sung, he has announced plans to create a "children's heaven nation."

"It's part of his plan to imitate a warm, fatherly impression," said Dong Yong-Sueng, North Korea specialist at Samsung Economic Research Institute.

Kim Jong Un clearly wants to establish an image that harkens back to what some North Koreans nostalgically remember as better times in the 1970s.

Under his grandfather, the country's founder Kim Il Sung, the country was economically backed by the USSR and had sufficient food to feed the nation.

Kim Jong Il, by contrast, was seen as a strong but cold leader. His reign, which began in 1994, was marked by escalating conflict and soaring poverty.

The image of the leader has significance in a tightly controlled society, and Kim Jong Un has sought to embrace the youthful energy of the country.

Whether cellphones and pizza accomplish that remains to be seen.