Dictators have always fascinated the world. Whether it was Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin or Saddam Hussein, these rulers made the world tremble in fear.
Same is the case with Kim Jong Un, who rules North Korea. The entire international media was abuzz with the news of his extremely poor health in recent days after reportedly undergoing a heart surgery. Some media outlets, especially those in South Korea, even claimed that Kim won’t survive.
But days later, the North Korean media released photographs of the leader at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, which the media said was held during the inauguration of a fertilizer plant.
Kim Jong Un attending the opening of Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory in North Korea on May 1, 2020. (Korean Central News Agency/Released)
Kim looked in a jovial mood in those pictures; he was even smiling. And since then, several theories emerged on the internet about his health.
One such theory, picked up by British publication Daily Mail, claims that Kim used a body double at the May 1 ceremony. It posted several photographs of the 36-year-old leader doing the rounds on the internet to describe how his facial features looked different.
Is there more than Un? Wild theories circulate that Kim Jong Un uses a body double https://t.co/p4Vjt7HaKb
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) May 5, 2020
The most notable difference highlighted in those photographs are in his dentition. The teeth looked doctored, the Daily Mail report claimed.
Lending credence to the theory is former Tory MP Louise Mensch.
“No it isn’t. Teeth, Cupid’s bow, others. Totally different. Look at those gnashes, if you must,” she said in her tweet posted on May 2.
No it isn’t.
Teeth, Cupid’s bow, others.
Totally different. Look at those gnashes, if you must. pic.twitter.com/efPmn0f5ox
— Louise Mensch (@LouiseMensch) May 2, 2020
“That’s what I thought. Something is just a little bit off,” tweeted a user Carlette Jones, “but have to know what disorder he had because there is a chance his face is a little puffed up from meds or his condition. Teeth aren’t the same. Also his body doesnt look the same, KJU had a longer upper body. And the new one looks more chinese than korean,” argued TPS Report.
but have to know what disorder he had because there is a chance his face is a little puffed up from meds or his condition
Teeth aren’t the same.
Also his body doesnt look the same, KJU had a longer upper body.
And the new one looks more chinese than korean— TPS Report (@ShoNuf77) May 2, 2020
However, some insisted the theories are incorrect.
There’s quite a lot of debate here as to if the Kim Jong Un seen at the fertiliser factory opening a few days ago is a slightly overweight body double, and not the real Kim Jong Un.
I can tell you this isn’t a stand-in, it’s the man himself, he is alive. pic.twitter.com/gL2Way9z8f
— David Videcette (@DavidVidecette) May 3, 2020
Meanwhile, South Korean lawmakers briefed by a spy agency said on Wednesday that there are no signs North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received heart surgery when he disappeared from state media for three weeks. He reduced public activity due to coronavirus concerns, they said.
“Kim Jong Un had focused on consolidating internal affairs such as military forces and party-state meetings, and coronavirus concerns have further limited his public activity,” a member of South Korea’s National Intelligence Service Kim Byung-kee said.
Kim’s visit to the fertilizer factory appeared to be aimed at expressing his resolve to ease food shortages and build a self-reliant economy, Kim Byung-kee further said.
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© 2020 the Hindustan Times
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
