[imText1]On February 2nd, The Daily NK acquired an exclusive video clip of a North Korean civilian, thought to be a Party official, burning pictures of Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Suk in his house and scribbling messages cursing Kim Jong Il.
The pictures burnt in the film, which runs for a total of 4 minutes and 22 seconds, are those of Kim Jong Il and Kim Jong Suk, pictures which are only distributed to Chosun Workers’ Party officials for hanging.
The North Korean defector who provided the video clip explained, “A Party official from North Hamkyung Province burned the pictures and wrote ‘bastard Kim Jong Il’ and ‘Kim Jong Eun is the child of a concubine’ on a piece of paper at his house on January 1st this year. The video clip was produced and leaked to display the person’s hostility towards Kim Jong Il and worsening public opinion within North Korea.”
The person also wrote a message on the reverse side of the paper, “Kim Jong Il is a bastard, Kim Jong Eun is the son of concubine. Not once did he talk about being married, and now he is facing death he is suddenly looking for his son? We cannot accept this.”
The message ‘daylight robbery’ is written on the picture of Kim Jong Il and then it is lit on fire, then the photo of Kim Jong Suk, which also has graffiti on it, is burnt.
“The video was filmed secretly inside the house; however, the shape of the housing is typical North Korean style,” the defector asserted, before explaining, “These pictures are the hanging pictures distributed to officials; they are different from general portraits.”
“The Party offers the portraits as gifts when local party officials visit Pyongyang for various ceremonies. They are printed on photographic paper. Party officials normally treat these portraits as very precious, and general citizens gaze on them with envious eyes,” he added.
Another North Korean defector who subsequently watched the video clip believes it likely that a North Korean Party official filmed the video. “Since the portrait photos were ones produced on photographic paper and distributed to Party officials, there is no other way of obtaining such photo,” he claimed, adding, “The video shows how public opinion in North Korea has taken a turn for the worse.”
The defector stated, “It is possible that North Korea will inspect portrait photos and search for housing with a similar shape to the one in the video.” To protect the identity of the photographer, The Daily NK is only disclosing a partial, still picture of the video clip.
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