Kim Jong-Il alive? Dead?

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7715458.stm

That photo is certainly faked.  Interesting times in North Korea right now.

'Fake photo' revives Kim rumours



  There is fresh speculation about the health of North Korea's "Dear Leader" Kim Jong-il, amid suggestions that an image of Mr Kim may have been doctored.

The image, released on Wednesday, appeared to show Mr Kim in good health while inspecting two military units.

But an analysis by the UK's Times newspaper highlighted incongruities around the leader's legs, and the BBC found what look like mismatched pixels.

It has given new life to suggestions Mr Kim may be seriously unwell.

"They go into ostrich mode so readily - because they have given no clue about what would happen without him," North Korea expert Dr Aidan Foster-Carter told the BBC.

Unlike the previous handover of power from the Great Leader Kim Il-sung to his son - which was planned and made public decades in advance - there has been no public announcement about who will succeed Kim Jong-il, 66.

Propaganda battle

The suspicions about Mr Kim's health have gathered force since about mid-August, amid a sudden lull in news reports and official images released by the official North Korean news agency, the KCNA.

His disappearance sparked suggestions he was undergoing brain surgery for a stroke or even that he had died.

In an apparent bid to stop the rumours, Pyongyang has recently released a succession of images and news stories which purportedly show the leader in good health.

The BBC carried one such image - of Mr Kim posing with a unit of North Korean soldiers - this week, in a report on Mr Kim's apparent return to health and a normal schedule.

But now the Times report - and additional research carried out by the BBC - suggest the image may not be all it seems.

In the photo, the shadow cast by Mr Kim's calves runs in a different direction to the shadow cast by the soldiers on either side of him, the Times pointed out. In addition, a black line running along the stand on which the soldiers are positioned mysteriously vanishes on either side of Mr Kim - suggesting his picture may have been superimposed onto the image.

Such a suspicion was reinforced when a BBC designer examined a close-up, and discovered apparently mismatched pixels to the right of Mr Kim's legs.

The validity of some of other pictures has been questioned in the past. For example, one image released in October appeared to include lush foliage in the background that was incongruous with autumn.

'Old trick'

According to Mr Foster-Carter, the North Koreans do not baulk at using photo fakery for ideological purposes.

"They've faked pictures from way back in the day, such as ones with his father on top of Paektu Mountain (a mountain with special resonance in Korean mythology), he told the BBC.

"It does seem likely that he's still ill. They sometimes don't realise that what a domestic audience will accept won't necessarily work for a more sceptical international audience.

"You think they'd be a bit more proficient at doing this by now!"

Mr Foster-Carter says North Korean authorities will now face renewed pressure to prove Mr Kim is alive and not incapacitated.

"If they want to stop speculation, they have to produce him - as long as they don't, we will still wonder."

[AJ Dual]

I have it on good authority he's in the same cryo-vat as Walt Disney and various pieces of Michael Jackson's nose...

[RocketMan]

Maybe Obama can save them.

[280plus]

Define "dead". 

it's all about the pixels people. 

[RaspberrySurprise]

This looks shooped, I can tell by the pixels and by having seen many shoops in my time.

[AZRedhawk44]

I fail to see how a faked picture demonstrates that Kim is dead.

A fake picture can be faked by many agencies with different agendas.

Yes, it's a fake picture.  Who cares?

It could be a 'shop by the CIA, deliberately intended to draw Kim out and shout he's alive so some CIA asset can get an opportunity on him.

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

Certainly could be that.  Which would be even more interesting.

[Manedwolf]

[280plus]

I can't see it, where is it shopped? 

[Gewehr98]

There should be an Intarweb Law or Theorem that's named for invocation of "It's Photoshopped!"

I'll have to head over to Fark.com and see if there's an applicable term.

(ie, Photoshop reference appearing in a given thread in 3...2...1...) 

[vaskidmark]

OK, it's shopped.  Which shop?  All locations, or just some of the special neighborhoods?  Can I order it on line instead of driving there?

If the Dear Leader is dead, who do we get as his replacement?  From what I've heard his kid was dropped from consideration and the power player list a few years ago.  Is there anyone else waiting in the wings, or do we fix popcorn and watch the fireworks over NE Asia?

stay safe.

skidmark

[Standing Wolf]

If the Dear Leader is dead, who do we get as his replacement?

I nominate Obama.

[waterhill]

Who is his replacement?

Helluva question....Hope the family didn't put the "fun" in dysfunctional!

[seeker_two]

I nominate fistful/MTP......with the myriad problems currently facing North Korea, the people need someone to blame....

[Harold Tuttle]

that image has been seriously degraded by overall jpg compression
Miss matched pixels at edge borders are the hallmark of how jpeg compresses data

the only thing that looks manipulated is the missing line and that is pretty simple to add
but it could also be explained by being a staging point for the image so the glorious one stands right in the middle

[RaspberrySurprise]

What about the shadow differences?

[red headed stranger]

Who is his replacement?

Helluva question....Hope the family didn't put the "fun" in dysfunctional!

Right now there are rumors that the woman who is in charge of taking care of him has been handling a number of the day to day functions. 

It will be interesting to see what happens when/if a transfer of power will occur.  I'll be gone from Korea before the end of the year, so I hope they can hold off on the fireworks until after I leave.   

[lee n. field]

Kim Jong-Il alive? Dead?

My bet is on almost dead.

Exaggerating the Maximum Leader's health/hiding his infirmities is a long time commie tradition.  Remember Brezhnev?

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

What about the shadow differences?

Kim is wearing clean, crisp, straight dress slacks that would leave a straight, clean shadow.  The soldiers are wearing baggy, wrinkly fatigues that would leave a rough and uneven shadow.

Each of the "problems" shown have perfectly reasonable explanations like jpeg compression or different types of pants.  I suspect the claim of "shoppedness" is a case of overzealous amateur analysts seeing things that aren't there.

[Regolith]

Kim is wearing clean, crisp, straight dress slacks that would leave a straight, clean shadow.  The soldiers are wearing baggy, wrinkly fatigues that would leave a rough and uneven shadow.

Each of the "problems" shown have perfectly reasonable explanations like jpeg compression or different types of pants.  I suspect the claim of "shoppedness" is a case of overzealous amateur analysts seeing things that aren't there.

Yeah.  The only really suspicious thing is the black line...but, we don't know what that black line is, other than a black line, so we can't really speculate too much about whether or not the fact it doesn't run behind ol' Kim is proof it was faked or not.

Besides, it would have taken maybe three seconds for whoever was doing the 'shopping to replicate that line so that it completed if it was supposed to.

[doczinn]

Never mind that the shadow is straight; it's also vertical. while the others are not.

[RocketMan]

Never mind that the shadow is straight; it's also vertical. while the others are not.

Yup.  The shadows cast by Kim are at a different angle than some of those cast by the soldiers.

[Harold Tuttle]

Kim is short.
The soldiers beside him are standing with bent knees to appear shorter.

Those are some smart soldiers.

[doczinn]

Hmmm... doesn't look like it to me.

WAITAMINUTE!! Check out the shadow of the guy to Kim's right's head. It appears to be the shadow of a much larger hat than than the guy is actually wearing.

[Antibubba]

Forget that guy's shadow--look at Kim's!  It's the wrong shape.