Huge 22-meter-high models of Kim Jong-un’s father and grandfather towered over the North Korean dictator during an official meeting this week.
The models of the country’s founder Kim Il Sung and successor Kim Jong Il stood behind him Tuesday at the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang, where he demanded an “exponential boost” in nuclear weapons.
His grandfather Kim Il Sung ruled the isolationist state with an iron fist from 1948 to 1994, with his son Kim Jong Il taking power after his father’s death.
Following his father’s example, he continued the family tradition of brutally oppressing the country’s population with violence, executions and purges.
Jong Il himself died in 2011 of a suspected heart attack and was succeeded by his youngest son Kim Jong Un, who was hailed by state media as the ‘great successor’.
These enormous, 22-meter-high models of Kim Jong Un’s father and grandfather towered over the North Korean dictator during an official meeting this week
The models of the country’s founder Kim Il Sung and successor Kim Jong Il were placed behind him on Tuesday before the Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang, where he demanded an “exponential boost” in nuclear weapons.
In a not-so-subtle tribute to his ancestors, Kim appeared at the People’s Assembly on Thursday, sitting behind a huge wooden desk, with the two 70-foot-tall models standing tall behind him on a podium, smiling over the crowd of party members.
Kim Il Sung’s slightly longer model featured North Korea’s founder, known as the ‘Great Leader’ of North Korea, dressed in his signature three-piece suit.
On the right was the model of the country’s former “Dear Leader,” Kim Jong Il, in his signature khaki military attire, which he became known for wearing.
We see the model with a stack of documents in her left hand.
Like his father, Kim Jong Un has continued his family’s tradition of brutality.
Its population is widely said to be starving, and with little healthcare, diseases like Covid-19 are widespread.
Meanwhile, anyone who shows signs of dissent against the ruling regime, or consumes media from the West or South Korea, faces harsh penalties, including prison terms, forced labor and even summary executions.
During the meeting, Jong Un said demanded an “exponential” boost in the production of modern atomic weapons, as the dictator declared North Korea a nuclear energy.
The despot also called on his country to play a bigger role in a coalition of countries confronting the United States with a “new Cold War” during a two-day session of the country’s parliament.
In a not-so-subtle tribute to his ancestors, Kim appeared at the People’s Assembly on Thursday, sitting behind a huge wooden desk, while the two 75-foot-tall models loomed large behind him on a stage, smiling over the crowd of party members.
The slightly larger model of Kim Il Sung showed North Korea’s founder – known as the ‘Great Leader’ in North Korea, dressed in his signature three-piece suit (left), while the model of the former ‘Dear Leader ‘ of the country Kim Jong Il depicted him in his typical khaki military attire
It was during this session that Kim and his cronies enshrined North Korea’s status as a nuclear power in their constitution.
The Supreme People’s Assembly session on Tuesday and Wednesday came after Kim traveled to Russia’s Far East this month to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and visit military and technology sites.
The trip raised Western concerns about a possible arms alliance in which North Korea would supply Putin with desperately needed ammunition to fuel his war against Ukraine in return for economic aid and advanced Russian technologies to upgrade North Korea’s nuclear and missile systems.
As North Korea slowly ends its pandemic lockdown, Kim has actively strengthened his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he seeks to break diplomatic isolation and join a united front against Washington.
The meeting also came as a U.S. soldier released by North Korea returned to the U.S. and underwent health screenings in Texas, the Pentagon said Thursday.
Officials said Travis King — described as being in “good health” — is at Brooke Army Medical Center, a common stop for recently released inmates including basketball star Brittney Griner and “Hotel Rwanda” hero Paul Rusesabagina.
During the meeting, Jong Un demanded an “exponential” boost in the production of modern nuclear weapons when the dictator declared North Korea a nuclear power.
King will undergo a “reintegration program,” including medical screenings and mental health assessments, after arriving back in the United States overnight, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters.
He will also be “interrogated by U.S. military officials,” she said, without giving details of that process.
After a drunken bar fight and a stint in South Korean prison, Private Second Class King was scheduled to fly back to Texas in July.
But instead of traveling to Fort Bliss for disciplinary hearings, he walked out of the Seoul-area airport, took part in a sightseeing trip to the demilitarized zone and slipped across the massively fortified border where he was being held by communist authorities.