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DPRK leader's photo likely being reused
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-30 09:18

DPRK leader's photo likely being reused
Kim Jong-il wears spring clothes in a photo released by North Korean media on May 24 (top) but winter clothes in a photo purportedly taken on June 14 (bottom). [Agencies]
DPRK leader's photo likely being reused

A third photo, also published on June 14, shows Kim wearing a winter jacket during the height of summer.

Nam Ju-hong, a DPRK expert at Seoul's Kyonggi University, said Kim made so many public appearances this year while recovering from his stroke - probably to allay public concerns and media speculation about his health - that he may have collapsed again. The Unification Ministry said last week that Kim has made 77 public appearances this year, compared with 49 during the same period last year.

Paik Hak-soon, an analyst at the Sejong Institute think tank outside Seoul, said the photos looked identical but suggested it was premature to conclude Kim's health had worsened on the basis of one photo.

AP

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