The man who dared to ride piggyback on Kim Jong Un
Last weekend, Pyongyang claimed it had successfully tested a rocket engine. The announcement, made by the official KCNA agency, was accompanied by the usual pictures of Kim being congratulated by officials.
However, this time, there was a slight difference — an elderly officer climbed on to Kim’s back, and the supreme leader seemed to be giving him a piggyback ride.
Kim is notorious for keeping subordinates at arm’s length. Then how did this mysterious officer find the gumption to climb on to his leader’s back?
The BBC, quoting North Korea observers, said the officer is thought to have played a key role in the engine test.
The observers say the picture was released with the aim of boosting Kim’s image as a man of the people.
“We know he is very strict with elites when they don’t obey his orders. But in general towards the people his propaganda image is friendly and convivial,” Jae-Cheon Lim of the Korea University in Seoul was quoted as saying by BBC.
North Korean observer Michael Madden said the image may also have something to do with football — when a team scores a goal, jubilant teammates usually celebrate with the scorer by climbing onto his or her back.
“When a test is conducted, civilian and military personnel are told to regard it as a sports competition — they win some, and lose some,” he said.