Kim Jong Un voted Person of the Year by TIME readers

Kim Jong-Un (AFP/Getty Images)

Hold on, this time it's true! Kim Jong Un has come top of TIME magazine's online poll for Person of the Year. You may remember just a few weeks ago The Onion's spoof piece (Kim Jong Un named 'Sexiest Man Alive') led China Daily to produce a fawning 12-page spread on Kim's good looks. But we've triple checked our sources and - yes - the readers of TIME have apparently elected North Korea's leader as their annual idol.

Of course, this doesn't mean he'll win the gong. TIME executive editor Radhika Jones said in a recent interview that editors don't make their selection for Person of the Year on poll results alone - "but it's always interesting to see where our preferred candidates end up."

Dampening Kim's chances, the poll - in which he received some 5.6 million votes - may have manipulated by users of internet forum 4chan, who launched a campaign to propel young Kim to the top.

Others in the top ten include the more predictable Jon Stewart, Aung San Suu Kyi, and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

But, though victory is far from assured, things could hardly be sweeter for Kim Jong Un right now. Two years after he emerged from Grand Poobah Kim Jong Il's shadow, he's evidently talk of the town. Shame about that pesky rocket though...