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Crisis? What crisis? Business as usual for North Korea’s laughing Kim Jong Un, as he tours bizarre frozen squid factory just days after executing 'traitorous' uncle Jang Song Thaek

Official photos released of a jovial-looking Kim Jong Un visiting a fishery

John Hall
Monday 16 December 2013 16:09 GMT
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Kim Jong un laughs as he inspects the August 25 Fisheries Station under KPA 313 Unit
Kim Jong un laughs as he inspects the August 25 Fisheries Station under KPA 313 Unit (Reuters)

It appears to be business as usual for North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, as new images show him laughing and joking while touring a frozen squid factory just days after executing his uncle Jang Song Thaek.

A number of official photographs were released of a jovial-looking Kim Jong Un’s weekend visit to the fishery - which is in an undisclosed somewhere deep inside the highly secretive state.

Maintaining his image as a volatile military obsessive, North Korea’s state-controlled KCNA News agency quoted Kim Jong Un comparing the piles of fish to "“"an ammunition factory full of artillery".

The report added that "he couldn't hold back joy or stop smiling" when told that the country's fish production had dramatically increased this year, leading him to "highly praise" the factory manager as a "hero".

As well as his visit to the fish factory - where he posed with bizarre piles of compacted frozen squid - Kim Jong Un also visited a military design centre and a luxury ski resort.

Meanwhile, in the capital Pyongyang, thousands of North Koreans took to the streets to re-pledge their loyalty to Kim Jong Un at a ceremony commentating the forthcoming second anniversary of the death of his father, Kim Jong Il.

Jang Song Thaek (AP)

  The cheerful celebrations come just days after North Korea stunned the world by announcing the execution of Jang Song Thaek – Kim Jong Un’s uncle and the man seen many as his number two.

Jang Song Thaek was executed on Thursday – just days after being removed from his many political and military posts - on charges of corruption and plotting to overthrow the state.

Analysts see the move as the biggest political shift in North Korea since Kim Jong Un inherited control of the country from his late father.

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