A lookalike of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un waves in the stands. REUTERS/Staff

A man dressed to impersonate North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un walked through Pyongyang's cheer squad at the Olympics — and they looked unimpressed to say the least.

Though it's unclear if this is the same impersonator who crashed the games' opening ceremony, the man was rushed away from the squad, much as the earlier impersonators were shoed away on Friday.

The cheerleaders looked less than thrilled to see a likeness of Kim before them. The squad is hand-picked for meeting stringent physical requirements, they are unpaid and train for months at a time, and have been imprisoned in the past for talking about the world they see outside of North Korea.

To get a feel for the pictures, check out Star.OhMyNews.com, which first reported the incident. Anna Fifield, Tokyo bureau chief for The Washington Post, also tweeted an image of the incident: </s> A lookalike of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves in the stands at the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. REUTERS/Staff

A man dressed to impersonate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un walked through Pyongyang's cheer squad at the Winter Olympics — and its members looked unimpressed, to say the least.

Though it's unclear whether this is the same impersonator who crashed the games' opening ceremony, the man was rushed away from the squad, much as the impersonator was on Friday.

The cheerleaders looked less than thrilled to see a likeness of Kim before them.

The squad's members are hand-picked and unpaid, train for months at a time, and must meet strict physical requirements. Some have reportedly been imprisoned in the past for talking about the world they see outside of North Korea.

To see more pictures, check out Ohmy Star, which first reported the incident. Anna Fifield, The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief, also tweeted an image: </s> HANOI (Reuters) - Cars stopped and tourists gawked on Friday at what appeared to be North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wandering the streets of Hanoi.

Days before the second summit between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump, to be held in Vietnam’s capital, a Kim impersonator appeared at the Metropole Hotel, a back-up location for the meeting.

Howard X, an Australian, has been cashing in on his resemblance to North Korea’s leader, especially his haircut.

“Kim, please get a proper haircut. It looks awful,” Howard X said, adding it takes him three hours to prepare his outfit and get into character.

The impersonator visited Singapore in June before the first summit, where he performed satirical stunts and said he was briefly detained by authorities.

He also showed up at the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, where he danced in front of an appalled North Korean cheer squad before security hauled him away..

“Last time we did it in Singapore, which is kind of his territory,” he said, exchanging handshakes and hugs with another impersonator dressed as Trump. “Now we are in my territory with my comrades.”

But that did not last long.

The Kim lookalike said Vietnamese authorities had questioned them and warned them of possible deportation after they had taped an interview at a local TV station, which did not air it.

“They then said that this was a very sensitive time in the city due to the Trump/Kim summit and that our impersonation was causing a ‘disturbance’,” Howard X said in a Facebook post.

He added he had reluctantly signed an agreement that he would not give interviews or do any impersonations in public.

Earlier, the impersonators were surrounded by reporters and television cameras at the hotel, before security staff showed them the door.

Hanoi is rolling out the red carpet for the real leaders and their delegations. The flags of Vietnam, the United States and North Korea lined main roads, alongside a summit emblem depicting two hands clasped inside a blue circle.

Howard X said he planned to eat Vietnamese food and play golf with his partner and Trump impersonator, Russell White, during the Feb. 27-28 summit.

Later, outside Hanoi’s Opera House, a crowd gathered, laughing and taking pictures.

Howard X was dressed in a Mao suit with a badge featuring the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, who was Kim Jong Un’s father.

“I thought it was the real Kim Jong Un when I looked at his back, but oh well, it is not,” said Lee Sang-hyuk, a South Korean student doing volunteer work in Vietnam. </s> • A man impersonating US President Donald Trump and a man impersonating North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un showed up at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
• The two men caused a spectacle and were later kicked out, according to reports.
• Outside the stadium, there were anti-unification protests over North Korea's involvement in the games.



The Winter Olympics opening ceremony took a political turn on Friday when a man impersonating US President Donald Trump and a man impersonating North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un crashed the party.

According to journalists in Pyeongchang for the ceremony, it's unclear what the two impersonators were doing, but they apparently made a scene.

And apparently, they got kicked out, too.

Meanwhile, according to reports, there were anti-Korean unification protests outside the stadium.

North Korea's inclusion in the Winter Olympics caught many by surprise. North Korea's involvement in the Olympics has been sparse, with their last Winter Olympics coming in 2010 in Vancouver. This year, they sent a delegation and also have a joint women's hockey team with South Korea. </s> CCTV footage purportedly showing the deadly assault on Kim Jong-un's brother by a woman in Malaysia is also released.

Malaysia has summoned the North Korean ambassador over his accusation that it was conspiring with "hostile forces" as it investigates the murder of leader Kim Jong-un's half-brother.

Malaysia also recalled its envoy to Pyongyang after a spat erupted when North Korean demands to hand over the body of Kim Jong-nam were rejected.

"The ministry emphasised that as the death occurred on Malaysian soil under mysterious circumstances, it is the responsibility of the Malaysian government to conduct an investigation to identify the cause of death," a foreign ministry statement said after a meeting with the North Korean ambassador.

Ambassador Kang Chol last week accused Malaysia of colluding with "hostile forces" to damage the North, after rival South Korea said Pyongyang had orchestrated the airport attack.

Malaysia views the complaint as "baseless", the foreign ministry statement said.

"The Malaysian government takes very seriously any unfounded attempt to tarnish its reputation," it said. "The Malaysian ambassador in Pyongyang has been recalled to Kuala Lumpur for consultations."

CCTV footage purportedly showing the deadly assault in Malaysia on Kim Jong-nam by a woman - who is believed to have wiped a fast-acting poison on his face - was released by Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV on Monday.

Kim Jong-nam died last Monday a short time after the attack in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where he had been preparing to take a flight to Macau.

Malaysian police have detained four suspects - a Vietnamese woman, an Indonesian woman, a Malaysian man, and North Korean man - and are on the hunt for four other North Koreans who fled the country on the day of the attack.

The grainy closed-circuit television footage, which has been released on several websites, showed from two different angles a woman wearing a white top grab a man's face from behind with both hands and walk away.

A second woman was also seen walking swiftly away in another direction after the assault, though it was unclear if she had participated in the attack.

The portly, balding, middle-aged man was seen stumbling and wiping his face after the assault, and later clips showed him seeking help from people while gesturing to his face and then being escorted to a clinic.

More footage showed him inside the clinic seeking medical assistance.

The authenticity of the video could not independently be verified, and police officials were not immediately available for comment.

In a press conference on Sunday, the police said the victim complained to the airport customer service personnel that two women had "wiped his face with a liquid".

North Korea has opposed an autopsy and demanded the body be handed over directly.

South Korean and US officials say they believe Kim Jong-nam was killed by agents from the reclusive North.

South Korean Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn told a meeting of South Korea's National Security Council on Monday it was nearly certain that North Korea was behind the killing of Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Kim Jong-nam, 46, who had been living in the Chinese territory of Macau under Beijing's protection, had spoken out publicly against his family's dynastic control of the isolated, nuclear-armed nation. </s> Malaysian prosecutors will charge two women — Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong from Vietnam — with murder over their alleged involvement in the killing of the estranged half-brother of North Korea's leader, the Southeast Asian country's attorney general said on Tuesday.

Kim Jong-nam, who had criticized the regime of his family and his half-brother Kim Jong-un, was killed in Kuala Lumpur earlier this month after the two women allegedly smeared VX nerve agent, a chemical described by the United Nations as a weapon of mass destruction, across his face.

Attorney general Mohamed Apandi Ali said the women will be formally charged on Wednesday under section 302 of the penal code, which carries the death penalty.

"I can confirm that," he told Reuters in a text message.

South Korean officials believe the murder was carried out by North Korean agents, and Malaysia has identified eight North Koreans suspected of involvement in the killing.

While Malaysian police arrested the women in the days after the attack, they are are also holding one North Korean man and have identified seven other North Koreans wanted in connection with the sensational case.

Ali said the North Korean in custody will not be charged yet. His remand period ends on Friday.

The security camera footage, which has been released in the media, showed two women assaulting Kim in the departure hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and the victim stumbling into a medical clinic. He died within 20 minutes of the assault.

Both women have told diplomats from their countries that they had been paid to take part in what they believed was a prank for a reality TV show.

Ri Tong Il, North Korea's former deputy ambassador to the United Nations, has repeated requests that Malaysia hand over the victim's body to the embassy and release the North Korean in custody.

He said he was in Malaysia for "the development of friendly relations between [North Korea] and the Malaysian government", media reported. </s> (KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia) — Appearing calm and solemn, two young women accused of smearing VX nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korea's leader, were charged with murder Wednesday.

The women, who arrived at court under the protection of special forces wearing masks and carrying machine guns, are at the center of a bizarre killing at a busy Kuala Lumpur airport terminal. Many speculate the attack was orchestrated by North Korea, but Pyongyang denies any role.

Wearing a red T-shirt and blue jeans, Indonesian suspect Siti Aisyah nodded as her translator told her: "You are accused of murdering a North Korean man at the departure hall" of Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The other suspect, Vietnamese Doan Thi Huong, wore a yellow shirt and blue jeans and said "I understand" in English as the charge was read. She looked briefly at the public gallery as she was led out and bowed her head.

The women did not enter pleas because the magistrate court where they appeared has no jurisdiction over a murder case. Lead prosecutor Iskander Ahmad told the court he will ask for the case to be transferred to a higher court and for both women to be tried together.

Kim Jong Nam was attacked as he waited for his flight home to Macau on Feb. 13. He died shortly after two women went up behind him and wiped something onto his face.

Both women have reportedly said they thought they were part of a prank TV show playing harmless tricks on unsuspecting passengers. Aisyah told authorities that she was paid the equivalent of $90.

Meanwhile, Kim's corpse is at the center of a growing diplomatic battle between North Korea and Malaysia.

Speculation is rampant that North Korea was behind the killing, particularly after Malaysia said Friday that VX had killed Kim. Experts say the oily poison was almost certainly produced in a sophisticated state weapons laboratory.

On Tuesday, a high-level North Korean delegation arrived in Kuala Lumpur seeking custody of the body.

North Korea opposed Malaysian officials even conducting an autopsy, while Malaysia has resisted giving up the body without getting DNA samples and confirmation from next of kin.

The delegation includes Ri Tong Il, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to the United Nations, who told reporters Tuesday outside the North Korean Embassy that the diplomats were in Malaysia to retrieve the body and seek the release of a North Korean arrested in the case. He said the delegation also wants "development of the friendly relationship" between North Korea and Malaysia.

Malaysian officials have confirmed that the victim of the attack was Kim Jong Nam. North Korea, however, has identified him only as a North Korean national with a diplomatic passport bearing the name Kim Chol.

Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said Malaysia will continue to insist that the body be identified by medical examiners through DNA or other means before it can be released. He said the protocol is to release it to the next-of-kin once identification is completed.

Asked how long Malaysia can keep Kim's body at the morgue, he said "we can keep as long as we want." Police have said that the body will eventually have to be released to the North Korean embassy if there is no claim by Kim's family members.

The killing of Kim Jong Nam appeared to be a well-planned hit. Malaysian authorities say North Koreans put the deadly nerve agent VX on the hands of two women who then placed the toxin on Kim's face. Kim died on the way to a hospital, within about 20 minutes of the attack, they say.

Arrmanatha Nasir, the spokesman for Indonesia's Foreign Ministry, said Aisyah's lawyers have already begun preparing her defense. Indonesia expects Malaysia will uphold a legal process based on the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise, he said.

"Is she an intelligence agent or not? Let's see the hearing process and what she says through her lawyers," Nasir said. "If there is information like that, of course we would get it either from our own intelligence services or from foreign intelligence services which have cooperation with us, and so far we have no such information."

Malaysia has also detained a 45-year-old North Korean, Ri Jong Chol, whose role in the killing is unclear. Asked if the North Korean will be charged, Apandi said it depends on the outcome of the investigation.

Authorities are seeking seven other North Korean suspects, four of whom fled the country the day of Kim's death and are believed to be back in North Korea. Others sought include the second secretary of North Korea's embassy and an employee of North Korea's state-owned airline, Air Koryo.

Malaysia hasn't directly accused North Korea of having masterminded the killing, but South Korea has. It has not provided evidence.

South Korean lawmakers said Monday that the country's National Intelligence Service told them in a private briefing that four of the North Koreans identified as suspects are from the Ministry of State Security, the North's spy organ.

Kim Jong Nam was estranged from Kim Jong Un. He reportedly fell out of favor with their father, the late Kim Jong Il, in 2001, when he was caught trying to enter Japan on a false passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland.

He had been heading to Macau, where he has a home, when he was killed.

Isolated North Korea has a long history of ordering killings of people it views as threats to its regime. Kim Jong Nam was not known to be seeking political power; he was best known for his penchants for drinking, gambling and expensive restaurants. But his position as eldest son of the family that has ruled North Korea since it was founded could have made him appear to be a danger.

Malaysia continues to seek DNA samples from Kim Jong Nam's immediate family. He is believed to have two sons and a daughter with two women living in Beijing and Macau.

AP video journalist Yves Dam Van in Kuala Lumpur and writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.a </s> BERN, Switzerland — A teacher who believes Kim Jong Un was secretly his student has offered President Donald Trump advice before their looming summit: Prepare some punchlines.

Michel Riesen recalls the boy he knew as Un Pak as being obsessed with basketball when he attended a school in Bern, Switzerland. The 14-year-old also liked jokes — and even tolerated being teased.

"If I look back I see a friendly, gentle, young Asian boy," Riesen told NBC News, referring to the youth who is widely believed to have been Kim Jong Un, now the leader of nuclear-armed North Korea. "A teenager from next door."

Riesen was Un Pak's homeroom teacher in 1998 and also taught him German and math.

"He had a good sense of humor," Riesen said in his first English language interview. "We had a laugh with each other."

The boy often wore NBA jerseys and expensive Nike shoes, according to Riesen.

The teacher recounted once teasing the boy, who was then just known to be a North Korean national but is now thought to be the son of dictator Kim Jong Il, about his basketball skills.

"I said to him: 'Hey, you look already like a pro but there is still a way to go to play like a pro. It's not enough to look like a pro,'" he recalled.

He said Un Pak had "no problem" with such quips.

Riesen added that while some other students at Liebefeld-Steinholzli School were "as good as him or better" on the basketball court, Un Pak always played with "passion."

Riesen said Un Pak was a good student and that his overseas schooling left him with a good understanding of Western values.

"Democracy is part of our being here in Switzerland," Riesen said. "So for sure he came into contact with democracy."

The teacher said Un Pak never appeared to be accompanied by a bodyguard and walk to school on foot. The teen is believed to have learned English, as well as some German and French, during his time in Switzerland.

However, Riesen said the boy struggled to form close friendships with local children due to his lack of command of the Swiss-German language.

Asked what Trump should do when meeting Kim Jong Un face-to-face, Riesen replied: "Try to find the sense of humor."

In a statement to NBC News, the school said a North Korean teen attended from August 1998 until the autumn of 2000. "He had been registered as the son of an embassy employee," it added. "He suddenly left the school. The boy was well-integrated, diligent and ambitious. His hobby was basketball."

Kang Myung-do, a defector from North Korea and distant relative of Kim Jong Un, said it must have been difficult for the future ruler to live under a fake name in a foreign country with his parents thousands of miles away.

"He led a life in hiding," said Kang, who is now a professor at South Korea's Kyonggi University. "The stress he felt living like that must have been enormous."

Kang described Kim Jong Il, who died in 2011, as "really ruthless" and said he "emitted fear and used that fear to govern."

He suggested that it was important for Trump to remember that Kim Jong Un’s father “was the one who influenced him the most." </s> Appearing calm and solemn, two young women accused of smearing VX nerve agent on Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korea's leader, were charged with murder Wednesday.



The women, who arrived in court under the protection of masked special forces carrying machine guns, are at the center of a bizarre killing at a busy Kuala Lumpur airport terminal. Many speculate the attack was orchestrated by North Korea, but Pyongyang denies any role.

"I understand but I am not guilty," Vietnamese suspect Doan Thi Huong told the court in English after the murder charge was read. She looked briefly at the public gallery as she was led out and bowed her head.



The other suspect, Indonesian Siti Aisyah, nodded as her translator told her: "You are accused of murdering a North Korean man at the departure hall" of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. She was dressed in a red T-shirt and jeans.



The women did not enter pleas because the magistrate court where they appeared has no jurisdiction over a murder case. Lead prosecutor Iskander Ahmad told the court he will ask for the case to be transferred to a higher court and for both women to be tried together.



Each faces a mandatory death sentence if convicted. Both women were wearing bulletproof vests as they were escorted from the court to Kajang Prison.



Kim Jong Nam was attacked as he waited for his flight home to Macau on Feb. 13. He died shortly after two women went up behind him and wiped something onto his face.



Both women have reportedly said they thought they were part of a prank TV show playing harmless tricks on unsuspecting passengers. Aisyah told authorities she was paid the equivalent of $90.



The attack was caught on grainy airport surveillance video; Huong was seen clearly in a T-shirt with "LOL" emblazoned across the front.



Gooi Soon Seng, Aisyah's lawyer, spoke to his client for the first time Wednesday.



"Her eyes were red and she says she's innocent," he said.



Also Wednesday, the court approved a gag order to prevent police and potential witnesses from making public statements about the case.



Meanwhile, Kim's corpse is at the center of a growing diplomatic battle between North Korea and Malaysia.



Speculation is rampant that North Korea was behind the killing, particularly after Malaysia said Friday that VX had killed Kim.

Experts say the oily poison was almost certainly produced in a sophisticated state weapons laboratory.



On Tuesday, a high-level North Korean delegation arrived in Kuala Lumpur seeking custody of the body.



North Korea opposed Malaysian officials even conducting an autopsy, while Malaysia has resisted giving up the body without getting DNA samples and confirmation from next of kin.



Malaysian officials have confirmed that the victim of the attack was Kim Jong Nam. North Korea, however, has identified him only as a North Korean national with a diplomatic passport bearing the name Kim Chol.



Health Minister Subramaniam Sathasivam said Malaysia will continue to insist that the body be identified by medical examiners through DNA or other means before it can be released. He said the protocol is to release it to the next-of-kin once identification is completed.



Kim Jong Nam is believed to have two sons and a daughter with two women living in Beijing and Macau.



The Pyongyang delegation is also seeking the release of a North Korean arrested in the case, 45-year-old Ri Jong Chol. Malaysia has not described his alleged role in the killing, and it was not clear if or when he could be charged.



Authorities are seeking seven other North Korean suspects, four of whom fled the country the day of Kim's death and are believed to be back in North Korea. Others sought include the second secretary of North Korea's embassy and an employee of North Korea's state-owned airline, Air Koryo.



Kim Jong Nam was estranged from Kim Jong Un. He reportedly fell out of favor with their father, the late Kim Jong Il, in 2001, when he was caught trying to enter Japan on a false passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland.



He had been heading to Macau, where he has a home, when he was killed.



Isolated North Korea has a long history of ordering killings of people it views as threats to its regime. Kim Jong Nam was not known to be seeking political power, but his position as eldest son of the family that has ruled North Korea since it was founded could have made him appear to be a danger.
A man is caught impersonating Kim Jong-un after walking through North Korea's cheerleading squad.