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Evan Bartlett
Apr 21, 2015
Another day, another Kim Jong-un photo-op. At dawn on Saturday, the supreme leader of North Korea "climbed" Mt Paektu - the country's highest peak - to "get energised like a nuclear weapon".
Subsequent photographs released by the state news agency KCNA showed Kim, along with hordes of his loyal subjects, having a whale of a time atop the 9,000ft peak - clearly having put that recent case of gout well behind him.
Interestingly however, another image was published which showed Kim looking unusually dishevelled as a gust of wind knocks into him. This was initially released by Rodong Sinmun - a state-run newspaper - but not by KCNA itself.
Via Frank FeinsteinBut hang on, there's something else not quite right. Apart from the fact that his suit, smart black shoes and even his hair look as shiny as ever despite such an arduous hike, one of the photographs looks particularly suspicious.
As the folks at Kotaku and a number of South Korean media outlets point out, what exactly are all those members of the Korean People's Army standing on?
What is this, an invisible rock?
How is that guy so high up?
While the South Korean outlets suggest the photo has been doctored, it's not entirely clear if that is the case. Nevertheless, what is almost certain is that a despotic leader who was recently seen walking with a severe limp and has a reported addiction to Swiss cheese, almost certainly did not hike his way to the top of a 9,003ft (2,744m) mountain.
More: There's something very wrong with this photo of Kim Jong-un
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