Here's why South Korean experts are looking at Kim Jong-un's shoes - Independent

May 6, 2018

Here's why South Korean experts are looking at Kim Jong-un's shoes
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The historic meeting between the North and South Korean leaders is the subject of intense scrutiny.

Kim Jong Un and his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-In met at the demilitarised zone (DMZ) dividing the two countries in what is being hailed as a landmark summit. It is the first time the leaders of the two warring countries met in over ten years.

Previous footage of Kim was heavily controlled by the state, so when he came to meet with Moon, people all over the world devoured the new photos and videos of the secretive leader.

For one conservative newspaper in South Korea, curiosity for all things North prompted it to go a step further, and hired experts to study Kim's shoes.

The Chosun Ilbo (a newspaper known for its critical coverage of both Kim and the liberal South Korean president), hired no less than seven experts who spent hours looking at all the footage of the two leaders, according to the Washington Post.

Kim is reportedly five foot seven, but his height has been a topic of interest.  Kim’s father was five foot two and wore lifts in his shoes to make himself look taller, according to some sources.

What did the experts find?
They found that Kim appeared to be less than an inch shorter than Moon, who is recorded as being a little over 5-foot-6. But they noticed something strange with his shoes: a high slope on the front of the shoe seemed to suggest that Kim was wearing insoles that were pushing his feet upward. One expert suggested that this meant the height difference between the Korean leaders was actually nearly 2 inches and possibly more, making Kim only 5-foot-4