Usually it’s the Hollywood starlets and sea monsters that get scrutinized for every centimeter their waist expands, but this week, it’s North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un who is under the fat-o-scope.

Free North Korea Radio is reporting the diminutive dictator has ballooned by about 20 kilos (44 pounds) since he became top dog, lending credence to rumors that he has been gorging himself on food and booze to deal with the stress of running his country and executing family and friends.

Although details are scarce, Kim’s weight was estimated from photographs at about 100 kilos (220 lbs) when he was first presented to the world. Now, with a noticeably bulging tummy and a couple more chins added to his trademark jowls, experts are putting him around 120 kilos (265 lbs).

At 175 cm (5′ 7″), that’s a whole lot of extra weight to be dragging around from platform shoe shopping to Kim-looks-at-things press tour du jour.

The drastic weight gain seems to have started around the time he reportedly had his uncle by marriage, Jang Song-thaek, and an ex-girlfriend executed .

There are also claims that the leader may be suffering from heart disease, as he reportedly has trouble moving his left arm and is losing his hair. The Seoul-based radio station reports he is receiving twice-weekly treatments to deal with these health problems, but that the North Korean government is trying to keep his ailments under wraps. Previous reports have also suggested he may have hypertension or diabetes.

Man, being a ruthless dictator must be tough. Almost as tough as being an average North Korean .

Source: The Chosun Ilbo h/t Kotaku US
Photo: Real Clear

A while back, Japanese politician Ryutaro Nonomura captured the world’s attention after a surreal outburst at a press conference regarding his alleged misuse of taxpayers’ money. No doubt seeing fertile ground for comedy, one creative musician then made Nonomura the stuff of Internet legend by setting the man’s sobs to a guitar track.

Guitarist Felix Martin and his talented collaborators operate under a similar concept, setting guitar, drums, and bass to speeches from North Korean officials, Hugo Chavez, and others. This project isn’t for laughs, though. With an ear for the rhythm and pitch of the spoken word, not to mention masterful heavy metal stylings, Martin and company elevate the aptly named Human Transcription project to the realm of art. Politics and propaganda have never sounded so good.

Hailing from Venezuela, Felix Martin is known for playing self-designed 14-string electric guitars, which have enabled him to push the boundaries of the “tapping” style used by many recent guitarists. His website details his motivations for first embarking upon The Human Transcription almost three years ago.

“The main concept of The Human Transcription is to extract the music that comes from spoken words, in this case, speeches in different languages. In other words, to notate the natural human speaking voice into music notation, and then arrange it to the musical instruments.”

Contributing to the effort are bassist Kilian Duarte, drummer Phil Galatioto, and Martin himself. Clearly, the three have gone to great pains to capture the natural feel of several languages around the world, with famous speeches serving as a showcase for each. And so, without further ado, let’s take a look at some recent entries.

1. Korean

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ON_hhXZ48gc&w=580&h=357]

The video opens with a male North Korean official speaking to the camera. Though we can’t understand what he’s saying, the man’s tone and bearing suggest he’s expounding the virtues of some aspect of the regime. Martin and the band capture his speech perfectly, playing hard without overshadowing what Martin himself calls the “very tonal and rhythmic” Korean language.

As we meet the second speaker, a young female soldier, the music becomes lighter, almost bubbly. We see more of these variations as the video moves between male and female soldiers and officials. Just when you think you’ve gotten the gist, however, the music turns wild and fast as the camera pans over a mass rally in Kim Il-sung Square.

Things only get better later on as we see troops practicing martial arts and surveying field equipment. Maybe heavy metal is just what the regime needs to turn the propaganda machine up to 11.

2. Arabic

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rEaVvYL-jw&w=580&h=357]

In the project’s most recent upload, the three musicians give listeners a feel for Arabic’s fast tempo through none other than deceased Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Though much of the music plays at a frenetic pace, matching Gaddafi’s exhortations and gesticulations, we hear a moment of relative calm around 0:37, as well as another switch-up at 2:34.

3. Portuguese

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6phP4o_iN4&w=580&h=357]

Featuring possibly the most energetic track yet, this video adds music to a speech from Lula da Silva, in which the former president of Brazil expresses solidarity with Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. Portuguese is known for being an expressive, musical language even without the addition of instruments, making this track all the more fitting. Note the burst of notes around 0:36, at the moment when the audience breaks out in applause.

At this point, Martin has uploaded four of a planned eight installments of The Human Transcription. Which politician will get featured next? We can’t wait to find out. In the meantime, check out the rest of the videos, as well as some incredible live performances, on Martin’s YouTube channel .

Source: Kotaku Japan , Felix Martin homepage
Featured image/video: YouTube

North Korean capital, Pyongyang, is home to the deepest subway system in the world. Its lowest point is said to reach 150m underground. A Japanese traveler to North Korea who was the source for our previous article Investigation of North Korea Reveals Their Fried Chicken Is Pretty Good has given RocketNews24 a glimpse into what it’s like to ride this subterranean wonder.

“A local guide brought me to the entrance of Puhŭng Station. To get to the train you have to take an escalator ride over 100m down” he said. While taking pictures of the station his guide warned that “taking too many pictures is very suspicious around here.”

He went on to explain it was morning rush hour when they arrived and there were many people passing through. In the station there were some automatic gates operating but most people opted for the old-fashioned gate, showing their tickets to a station employee.

After taking the long, long escalator deep down to the platform it’s a little surprising to find a cavernous yet elegant space lit by beautiful chandeliers. They even have an automatic information system. This is basically a map of the subway system with bulbs attached that light up the way to a station depending on what button you push. It looks like technology out of a 1950’s sci-fi movie but it’s easy to use and effective if you want to know how to get to a station quickly.

When RocketNews24 asked him about his impression of riding North Korea’s subway he replied, “Forgetting everything we may think about North Korea and talking only about the subway, it’s really deep. That part’s okay but I found myself getting creeped out by the darkness at times. I can understand why they put the trains all the way down there though. It’s a country at war and putting your transportation system down there keeps it safe.”

He was surprised by the appearance of two adorable little girls with backpacks who were taking the same train by themselves, possibly going to school. According to most photographs of North Korea these girls seem to be the only citizens not wearing grey, brown, or black clothing.

“I had a kind of grim image of North Korea in my mind. I even suspected the government of planting these girls here. It’s hard to tell how much of the real North Korea I’m seeing at times. I don’t think my guide would appreciate me saying that, but it’s how a lot of Japanese people feel about a country we know very little about.” he told us.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNpT4GxqsKs&w=580&h=357]
[ Read in Japanese ]

Despite Japanese news programmes just this morning stating that North Korea would likely delay the launch of its “long-range rocket” until the end of the month, South Korean news sources have revealed that the launch went ahead earlier today at around 9:50 a.m. Japan Standard Time.

Debris from the rocket is believed to have fallen into the sea between South Korea and China, with additional parts crashing down close to the Philippines.

The notoriously private country had previously announced that it would launch a satellite into orbit between 11-22 December, but after rumours of technical deficiencies in the first-stage engine surfaced, it was believed that the launch would be delayed until the end of the month, after the first anniversary of the death of former leader and lover of khaki Kim Jon-il next Monday.

This is North Korea’s second launch this year of what is suspected to be long-range missile technology, with the country’s previous effort ending in failure back in April when its rocket broke up before reaching full altitude.

The United Nations security council had previously warned North Korea that launches of this kind would be seen as a violation of sanctions put in place prohibiting the country from testing potential long-range missile technology. The country, which maintains that it is simply attempting to launch a satellite into space, went ahead with the launch regardless.

Japanese Self Defence Forces have been on high alert since news surfaced that North Korea was preparing a launch, but is not believed to have taken action to intercept the rocket during its flight this morning.

Source: Yahoo! Japan News Title image

On our Japanese site, we run a regular column where we review the in-flight meals of airlines around the world.

While we’ve yet to bring any of these to our English site, our latest review was just too good to keep to our Japanese readers.

Ladies and gentlemen, we bring you the in-flight meal of North Korea’s state-owned carrier, Air Koryo.

The meal under review was served to our correspondent during an economy class flight from North Korea’s Sunan International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport.

The contents of the meal included a hamburger and a cup of juice – nothing more, nothing less.

The hamburger was topped with 2 thin onion slices and mayonnaise and came in wrapping with Chinese writing on it, suggesting it was made in China.

The juice was available in either apple or orange.

Regarding the taste of the hamburger, our correspondent tells us that both the buns and hamburger patty were incredibly dry, though this may partly be due to the fact that the hamburger was served to him cold.

Our guess is that the microwave is reserved for first-class passengers only.

Special thanks to Kuzo for the photos, video and interview.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_keUFkZbX1U&w=560&h=315]

[ Read in Japanese ]

We’re used to seeing a lot of unbelievable-sounding coverage concerning the Cobra-style antics of North Korea’s totalitarian dictatorship. But the country’s tightly-closed borders make many reports difficult to verify, so a lot of patently false stories end up circulating through legitimate outlets. This means that, sadly, what you’ve read about North Korea putting a man on the sun and finding a unicorn lair are less than legit.

Some stories, however, are frighteningly real: Like the one about Pyongyang launching a series of Scud missiles over the Japan Sea recently as a show of military might.

The North reportedly launched two of the short-range ballistic missiles this morning, a week after firing off a separate series in the same direction – perhaps mildly shocking an already-jaded foreign media that routinely covers the North’s ultimately impotent political posturing, and mildly annoying the defense ministries of Japan and South Korea.

Reports suggest the two missiles landed some 500 km off North Korea’s coast, meaning the next series of rockets could very well make landfall in either Japan or South Korea, if the North ever felt like being completely obliterated by nearly every major military power in the civilized world.

Source: My Game News Flash
Photos: Headline , Inset