In the recent past, there was a mystery surrounding the absence of Kim Jong-un from important programs of north korea. There were doubts about his well being. The country happens to be a nuclear power with an arsenal of an assorted variety of weapons. Hence, the world was worried about Kim’s health. However, the issue is resolved because Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, appeared in public on May Day.
It seems he was in Wonsan. Anyway, the North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun admits that the time has come to show the humanitarian face of its leaders Kim Jong-un and his father, Kim Jong-il. As an official of South Korea's unification ministry says – the efforts of the regime to demystifying its leaders are “noteworthy.” The probable intention could be to stress on patriotism and love for the people instead of wrapping the leaders in a mysterious cocoon.
Daily Mail UK makes mention of the failed summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un at Hanoi. It was the second time they met after Singapore.
The failure had dampened the spirits of the leader of North Korea. It seems Kim now wants to present his more “human” side and wants his people to stop mythologizing him. He said as much soon after the breakdown of negotiations in March. In his opinion, absolute loyalty would come when the leader can impress the people both as a human and as a comrade.
Kim Jong-un keeps a low profile
In the past two months, the number of public appearances of Kim Jong-un have been very few. Some attribute this to fears of coronavirus. There has been no indication of any health-related issues for his absence from the public eye. An official of South Korea’s intelligence agency confirms this. For the records, the leader of North Korea made 17 public appearances so far this year.
This is considerably less than an average of 50 from previous years. It could be because of a possible coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Daily Mail UK goes on to add Kim Jong-un is probably busy consolidating internal affairs. These could relate to military forces and party-state meetings, apart from concerns over coronavirus. Activities of this nature might have limited his public appearances. Incidentally, North Korea has moved talks with the United States to the back burner. It will wait for the results of the US presidential election in November. This is what Russia's ambassador to Pyongyang has told the media. He expects dialogue to resume between the two sides and adds that suspension of talks could lead to tension in the region.
A British doctor makes a sculpture of the leader of North Korea
According to Express UK, a Harley Street surgeon built and personally delivered a solid bronze sculpture of Kim Jong-un to a museum in North Korea. It was 99 lbs. (44-Kg) bust and depicted only the head of the leader. The surgeon Nadey Hakim lives in Hampstead in North London, and sculpting is his hobby. He has been indulging in this hobby for 25 years and has done it for other leaders. One day he came across a picture of Kim Jong-un in a jovial mood, and he was impressed with the expression. That activated him. Once the sculpture was ready, he contacted the North Korean embassy in London and finally went to deliver it to Pyongyang with his son, who is also a doctor.
The authorities of North Korea were helpful
The 62-year-old surgeon mentioned about the sequence of events. Express UK says after contacting the embassy of North Korea in London and preliminary e-mails and phones, officials of the embassy visited Nadey Hakim at his home to see the bust for themselves. Once that part was over, they decided that the doctor’s son would come to Pyongyang to deliver it. They traveled to Pyongyang via Beijing. There, at a special ceremony, the sculpture was unveiled and later shifted to the Museum of International Friendship, where it now resides.