Big fat dictator tells big fat mountain climbing lie
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was all smiles after scaling to the top of a 9,000-foot-tall mountain — wearing spotless black leather shoes, according to state media.
The tubby tyrant trudged “through thick snow” to the top of Mount Paektu, where he was photographed beaming none the worse for wear in his double-breasted coat.
And in addition to accomplishing the feat without mountaineering gear, Kim also miraculously changed the weather, according to the official state newspaper Rodong Sinmun.
The active volcano along the Chinese and North Korean border offered a “warm welcome” to the diminutive despot as it showed “joy at the appearance of the peerlessly illustrious commander who controls nature.”
A blizzard gave way to a brief respite of glorious sunshine on what should have been a dreary winter day, according to a government statement.
“His eyes reflected the strong beams of the gifted great person seeing in the majestic spirit of Mount Paektu the appearance of a powerful socialist nation which dynamically advances full of vigor without vacillation at any raving dirty wind on the planet,” according to the state outlet, the Independent of the UK reported.
His visit has sparked speculation that he was planning a major event, as leaders’ previous visits have been followed by important decisions and acts, Britain’s Daily Mirror reported.
Four years ago, Kim visited the mountain a month before he executed top officials, including his uncle Jang Song-thaek. A visit in April 2015 was followed by the execution of former defense chief Hyon Yong-chol, according to the news outlet.
Kim also visited the site after Pyongyang’s fifth nuclear test in September 2016.
North Korea is trying to develop a nuclear warhead capable of reaching the US mainland. It has carried out several missile tests and one nuclear test this year despite UN sanctions.
The US, Japan and South Korea planned to hold two days of missile tracking drills starting Monday amid rising tensions over the regime’s nuclear weapons program, the Mirror reported.
Last week, Pyongyang said military drills conducted by the US and the South had made the outbreak of war “an established fact.”
Mount Paektu — which is sacred in North Korean folklore — has frequently been used to beef up tales of prowess across three generations of the Kim family.
Previous accounts claimed Kim possesses impressive powers, including being able to drive at the age of 3 and win yacht races at the tender age of 9, the UK’s Sun reported.