Sporting a shiny leather jacket and aviator sunglasses, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un starred in a Hollywood-style video produced to showcase Pyongyang’s latest nuclear-capable missile test. Under Kim, North Korea has sought to reform state media to embrace digital effects, seeking more modern ways of telling its stories.
On Thursday, the country tested an intercontinental ballistic missile in a test that Kim said was designed to demonstrate the power of its nuclear force and deter any US military movement.
State TV aired a video of the launch with flashy effects and editing, and international commentators compared it to the movie “Top Gun” or the South Korean K-pop hit “Gangnam Style.”
Kim, surrounded by military personnel, is pictured in slow motion walking and pointing as the hangar doors slowly open to reveal the missile. The soundtrack speeds up as the footage quickly alternates between the dictator and the officers looking at their watches before Kim takes off her sunglasses and waves the missile to start moving to its launch position.
The countdown starts at number nine. Then one of Kim’s aides yells “fire!” in slow motion, before a rapid succession of shots shows another soldier waving a flag. Others gather in the command trailer, screaming, as someone presses the launch button.
Flames spread, and the missile takes to the sky. After the projectile disappears, the North Korean dictator celebrates with his two top aides by shouting “long live” and raising their hands. In the next scene, Kim walks smiling down the lane, shoulder to shoulder with soldiers in combat uniforms.
Images of the missile launch sparked online memes and remixes calling Kim “Top Kim Jong-un” or referring to the video as “Pyongyang-style”. Earlier, Kim rose to fame when he rode a white horse across the snowy slopes of North Korea’s holiest mountain.
