Where's Kim?

[George K]

https://apnews.com/ba5aa2273f29bdb59257ef1ea9e4f58b

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance in 20 days as he celebrated the completion of a fertilizer factory near Pyongyang, state media said Saturday, ending an absence that had triggered global rumors that he may be seriously ill.

The North’s official Korean Central News Agency reported that Kim attended the ceremony Friday in Sunchon with other senior officials, including his sister Kim Yo Jong, who many analysts predict would take over if her brother is suddenly unable to rule.

State media showed videos and photos of Kim wearing a black Mao suit and constantly smiling, walking around facilities, applauding, cutting a huge red ribbon with a scissor handed by his sister, and smoking inside and outside of buildings while talking with other officials.

[Mik]

Apparently we have a plan to sieze their nukes in case of instability.

https://apple.news/AUYUT0AWWS36g1dTJgLugqg

[Loki]

Fire drills with speculation around his sister in not a bad idea to mitigate risk in succession planning.

Ultimately his son just needs to ripen for another 15 or so years.

[Mik]

You have to wonder what kind of instruction the generations of Kims have received. The Despot Institute. I was surprised the current one was educated in Switzerland.

How does one train up their kid to be a ruthless murderer to maintain power.

[Horace]

@Mik said in Where's Kim?:

How does one train up their kid to be a ruthless murderer to maintain power.

I was watching Ken Burns' Vietnam documentary recently. One soldier, after seeing what he saw there, was reflecting on the notion that war teaches people to be savage. He disagreed. He sensed that we are savage by nature and war is just finishing school. I suspect it would not be difficult to raise a Kim Jong Un style person.

[George K]

Well, here you go! LOL.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is alive and well.

Or is he?

The 36-year-old, morbidly obese Kim famously disappeared last month and reports that he suffered a serious health incident flooded the internet. But after a couple weeks of mystery, Kim supposedly reappeared.

Or did he?

On Saturday, state-run media in North Korea released images and video that show Kim at a ribbon-cutting event in an attempt to quell the rumors that he was either in a vegetative state or already dead.

Or did they?

It is a “well-known fact that Kim uses body doubles,” the International Business Times said Monday.

Shortly after footage of Kim’s reappearance emerged, several social media users didn’t waste any time in pointing out discrepancies in the leader’s facial, hairline and dental features when comparing his recent public outing with previous appearances, leading many to believe that authorities may have used one of his body doubles to stand in for Kim and end the speculation surrounding his ill health.

Human rights activist Jennifer Zeng was the first to draw attention to dissimilarities between the two “versions” of Kim, including differences in their teeth, and ears. “Is the Kim Jong-un appearing on May 1 the real one?” she asked on Twitter along with side-by-side comparisons of Kim’s “old and new” appearances in two separate posts.

Is the Kim Jong-un appearing on May 1 the real one? 4 things to watch: 1. Teeth 2. Ears 3. Hair 4. Sister 金正恩露面被疑替身 網友提出4個理由. 1. 牙齒明顯不同 2 耳朵形狀不同 3 神情和頭髮 4 妹妹年輕了十歲 pic.twitter.com/ngKIyNtPpT

— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferatntd) May 2, 2020

More of old and new photos "Kim Jong-un" to compare. 更多「金正恩」新老照片對比。 pic.twitter.com/zvaMlUpTcP

— Jennifer Zeng 曾錚 (@jenniferatntd) May 2, 2020

Another Twitterer said Kim looks “slightly different” during his most recent appearance. “Have y’all seen the latest pics of Kim Jong Un? He looks slightly different. My theory is either that he died and was replaced by a clone/lookalike, or was out of the public eye for so long bc he was recovering from plastic surgery.”

“His nose seems a little bit more rounded, his hairline looks wider, and he used to have WAY more wrinkles around the eyes when he smiled. The hairline may just be receding or a fresh new haircut, but the smoother eyes and slightly different nose have me questioning things.”

[Mik]

Y'know, that was my first thought when I saw the pic - perhaps a double.

[George K]

Presumably he made some remarks at this event.

It would be trivial to compare voices, wouldn't it?

[Mik]

If you could get a good recording I am sure. Certainly is not a convincing picture.

[xenon]

Run them through a good face recognition AI.

Computers detect way more distinguishing features than people.

[George K]

@xenon said in Where's Kim?:

Run them through a good face recognition AI.

Computers detect way more distinguishing features than people.

Like many, I tend to dismiss conspiracy stuff like this. However, in this case, the photos, if real, are suggestive, aren't they?

[brenda]

The teeth are different. 'Nuf said.

[Axtremus]

May be his "health emergency" was that he chipped his teeth?

[George K]

@Axtremus said in Where's Kim?:

May be his "health emergency" was that he chipped his teeth?

Good point.

I hadn't considered that. Thanks for taking off my tinfoil hat!

[Rainman]

No way same guy.
1st picture Kim has a mole below his mouth. Second picture, no mole.
hmmmmm??

[Mik]

Eyebrows totally different.

[George K]

Isn't this fun?

[taiwan_girl]

in a country where many people do not have enough to eat, the double person was probably happy that he was told to "fatten up".

[George K]

A story from 3 years ago

KIM Jong-un was last night snapped chin-wagging with his body doubles in bizarre footage of North Korea's latest missile test.

The dictator was filmed chatting away to the two lookalikes - dressed identically in his trademark black pinstripe suit and Cuban heels.

[Doctor Phibes]

Could it look any more like a James Bond film?