SOUTH KOREA / NORTH KOREA: You have to look twice as lookalikes of North Korea's Kim Jong-il and his father talk about the region's recent nuclear test

Lookalikes of North Korean leaders have attracted media's attention since the historic inter-Korean summit in June 2000. Two lookalikes of former and current North Korean leaders met on Thursday (November 9) and discussed North Korea's nuclear test. Late North Korean president Kim Il-sung's lookalike Jeong Il-seong asked "his son" who visited his restaurant why he had conducted a nuclear test. "Don't you think we need something special, an epoch-making weapon, to survive?!" answered 56-year-old Kim Young-sik, wearing his olive green Kim Jong-il uniform and black sunglasses and mimicking the North Korean leaders' gestures. It is not clear whether Kim Jong-il was born in 1941 or 1942. He inherited the power from his father Kim Il-sung in 1994 when Senior Kim died at the age of 82. Forty-five-year old Kim Il-sung's lookalike Jong asked "his son" whether he would conduct another nuclear test. "We already surprised the world once! It would be okay as long as we possess it. We don't have to waste our resources again!" answered Kim bluntly. North and South Korea are still technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean war ended in armistice without a proper peace treaty. Since the first inter-Korean summit the relationships between two Koreas had been improved until the North conducted a nuclear test on October Kim Young-sik was born during the Korean War and he has been acting as Kim Jong-il for movies, dramas and plays for about ten years. It is quite natural that he is called "Dear Leader" by his friends and relatives. "As stock markets were experiencing difficulties after the nuclear test, my friends made jokes to me, saying that was why I conducted the nuclear test," Kim said. Kim has been trying to gain more weight to look more alike the dear leader in the North. And now he resembles the leader's mind as well as his looks. "I think North Korea has developed nuclear weapons not to be intimidated by other countries. That's why they possess nuclear weapons," he supported North Korea's position. North Korea agreed last week to rejoin the discussions involving the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States after staying away for a year in protest at a U.S. crackdown on its international finances. The six countries in stalled talks to end North Korea's nuclear weapons programme will likely return to the table in December after possibly holding an informal meeting to iron out details, a South Korean official said.

ITN Source | November 11, 2006

Tags:. .position. .involving. .november. .improved. .peace