North Korean shiny blue 'rocketman' creates a buzz on social media

By Hyung-Jin Kim & Kim Tong-Hyung of AP

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13 Oct, 2021 05:49 PM2 mins to read

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets fighter pilots at the opening of a weapons exhibition where one man, in particular, stood out. Photo / Korea News Service via AP

A North Korean soldier clad in a super-tight blue outfit in a state media photo has generated a buzz on social media, with some calling him "a superhero", "a captain DPRK", or "a rocketman".

He was among nearly 30 soldiers who posed for a photo with leader Kim Jong Un during an exhibition of weapons systems on Monday. North Korea published photos of the event the following day.

They all mostly wore olive green uniforms, the most common colour for North Korean military uniforms. Only two of them wore different colours — the one in the blue outfit and the other in a navy blue uniform, which isn't that unusual. Kim wore a dark suit.

One of these soldiers is not like the others. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, centre, poses for a group photo with fighter pilots. Photo / Korea News Service via AP

Some Twitter users in South Korea, the US and elsewhere joked about his appearance, saying he looks like a "human cannonball", or the North Korean equivalent of Captain America.

Others called him a "superhero", a "captain DPRK", the official acronym for North Korea, a "rocketman", or a member of (non-existent) North Korean space forces.

North Korean state media didn't identify the man. But Jeffrey Lewis, an expert at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, tweeted that "It seems he's the parachutist."

The shiny blue costume stands out amongst other military at the opening of a weapons systems exhibition in Pyongyang, North Korea. Photo / Korea News Service via AP

Other North Korean photos showed Kim watching a group of jets flying in a formation during an air show ahead of the exhibition. The official Korean Central News Agency said a "top notch parachutist showed landing skills, fluttering red party flag in the [October] sky" before the exhibition's opening ceremony.