[imText1]For the first time, Kim Jong Il’s “Heightening Shoes,” of which have been rumored around, are caught in photographs.
Kim Jong Il’s height is known to be around 165cm (appx. 5’6’’) but many assume that he is actually shorter. It was a known fact that Kim Jong Il has long been wearing the “heightening shoes” to “cover up” his height.
Until now, the pictures on Kim Jong Il’s “heightening shoes” have been classified secrets in the North Korean media, so the truth about his height was never reported. For the first time, The DailyNK collected the photographs taken by the foreign press, amplified and analyzed them to reveal the truth.
Foreign press took the pictures shown in this article during Kim Jong Il’s visits to China and Russia between 2001 and 2002. The picture above is the shot taken at the summit meeting where Kim Jong Il and President Putin are talking, and the height of hills (shoes sole) are compared between the two leaders. Here, we can assume that the shoes Kim Jong Il is wearing are about 10cm~12cm high.
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| ▲ Kim Jong Il viewed a performance with Jiang Zemin, former president of China |
▣ In this picture too, Kim Jong Il is wearing literally high hills. Perhaps due to such high hills, location of his ankles seems rather unstable.
Kim Jong Il’s height is “secret” nobody knows, and although the participants of the 2000 inter-Korean Summit Meeting say it seems to be about 165cm, the North Korean defectors testify that Kim Jong Il must be shorter. Their opinions vary from maximum 165cm (5’6’’) to minimum 155cm (5’2’’). The reason why the North Korean defectors do not know the exact height of the Dear Leader is not only because nobody dares to measure his height, but there are very few people physically close enough to Kim Jong Il to have a chance to see Kim Jong Il without his “heightening shoes.”
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| ▲ Kim Jong Il had the summit conference with president Putin during a visit Russia in 2001 |
▣ One of the North Korean defectors testify, “In order to be selected as one of the Kim Jong Il’s bodyguards, one must not be very tall. One person I knew was good looking and good in fighting, but he was rejected because his height was 173cm (5’9.1/2’’).” It seems that Kim Jong Il’s group of bodyguards are about 10cm to 20cm shorter than the average bodyguards working for the national leaders around the world. It is slightly worrisome whether such bodyguards are able to successfully guard the Dear Leader.
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| ▲ The summit conference between Kim Jong Il and Jiang Zemin, 2001 |
▣ According to a defector’s testimony, Kim Jong Il has “a habit of putting one foot front, hitting the ground with the hills of the other foot behind and encircling the ankle when he makes outdoor visits.” Such a habit seems to be due to the pain he gets for wearing high shoes for a long time.
As we can see in the amplified pictures, the “heightening shoes” seem unstable where Kim Jong Il’s back of feet seem to be only slightly inside the shoes. Perhaps it may be a good idea to make more stable shoes for “the Dear Leader” for his outdoor visits.
