Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s reclusive Supreme Leader met with Bill Clinton last summer to discuss the imprisonment of two American journalists.  This was the first time these two remarkable people had met face to face, despite fostering a ton of tension over the DPRK’s desire to build nuclear missiles in the mid 90′s. Now that it’s the 21st century, and they actually HAVE built nuclear missiles, things keep getting weirder and weirder in North Korea.

There was some speculation that the man who met with Clinton in August 2009 wasn’t Kim Jong Il, but a stand-in lookalike. Kim Jong Il apparently has several lookalikes that he used to use to thwart assassination attempts, Saddam Hussein-style. There have been rumours for years that Kim Jong Il’s health is failing, or that he has actually already died.  Nobody on either side of the North Korean border has been able to prove anything about the current state of their leader, and this fascinates me. I think it’s so awesome that nobody knows whether a world leader is alive or dead.  Since having a serious stroke in 2008, Kim Jong Il has made hundreds of public “appearances” all over the DPRK; I think he will be a popular theme at Cross Country Singalong because everything about him is amazing.

Bill Clinton (left) meets Kim Jong Il (right)

This photograph sums up exactly what this site is about. North Korea, fascinating people, hilarious juxtapositions, disparate heights, awkward press photos… These are all wonderful things.