China bans insulting nicknames for North Korean leader 

China is apparently banning its people from using nicknames deemed offensive for Kim Jong-un.

North Korea’s Supreme Leader has been given a series of nicknames by the Chinese web users; and almost all of them poke fun at Kim’s portly stature.

Some of the most frequently used ones are ‘Kim Fatty the Third’, ‘Kim Pig the Third’ and ‘prosperous fatty’.

Kim Jong-un has received controversial nicknames in China due to his growing waistline

The Supreme Leader is known as 'Kim Fatty the Third', 'Kim Pig the Third' and 'prosperous fatty'

The Supreme Leader is known as ‘Kim Fatty the Third’, ‘Kim Pig the Third’ and ‘prosperous fatty’

It seems these search words have now been censored on major Chinese social media platforms and China’s main search engine.

The discovery was made days before Kim Jong-un is set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump for a historic summit in Singapore on June 12.   

‘Kim Fatty the Third’ (金三胖) is the best-known nickname of Kim Jong-un in China. The Chinese public use the alias to refer to Kim’s growing waistline.

Kim Jong-un’s grandfather and father, Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, are called ‘Kim Fatty the First’ and ‘Kim Fatty the Second’ by Chinese web users.  

U.S. President Donald Trump attends the announcement of the introduction of the Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy (RAISE) Act in the Roosevelt Room at the White House on August 2, 2017 in Washington, DC

North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un during a meeting with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at Kumsusan Palace of the Sun

Kim Jong-un is set to meet Donald Trump for a historic summit in Singapore on June 12

Apparently, the nickname ‘Kim Fatty the Third’ became so popular that in 2016 North Korea officials had to request the Chinese authority to stop its people from using it online.

However, an attempt to search for the phrase by MailOnline today brought no results on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, or search engine Baidu, the Chinese equivalent to Google.

The phrase also brought no results on WeChat, a Chinese messaging and social media app used by more than one billion people.

While on the Chinese version of Google, which is operated in self-administrated Hong Kong, ‘Kim Fatty the Third’ showed 3,020,000 search results this morning.

Why is Kim Jong-un called ‘Kim Fatty the Third’ in China?

'Kim Fatty the Third': Kim Jong-un's nickname became so popular that it was said Pyongyang had to ask Beijing to stop its people from body shaming its leader in 2016

‘Kim Fatty the Third’: Kim Jong-un’s nickname became so popular that it was said Pyongyang had to ask Beijing to stop its people from body shaming its leader in 2016

There are several different theories on the origin of the nickname.  

Here are the two popular ones according to Chinese media.

The first one deprives from the three-generation lineage of North Korean leadership. Apparently all of the three leaders on North Korea’s history are deemed ‘fat’ by Chinese people. 

Kim Il-sung, the founder of the communist country, is called ‘Kim Fatty the First’. His son, Kim Jong-il, is ‘Kim Fatty the Second’ while Kim Jong-un is ‘Kim Fatty the Third’.

The second theory says because Kim Jong-un is the third son of Kim Jong-il and he is fat, he is called ‘Kim Fatty the Third’.   

Similarly, any content containing Kim’s other nicknames ‘Kim Pig the Third’ (金三猪) and ‘prosperous fatty’ (鑫胖) has apparently been removed from Weibo, Baidu and WeChat.

On the other hand, there were 6,880,000 entries containing the search phrase ‘prosperous fatty’ on the Chinese-language Google this morning.

Kim Jong-un was called ‘prosperous fatty’ because the Chinese character for ‘prosperous’ is made up with three identical characters meaning ‘Kim’.  

Kim Jong-un is deemed a sensitive topic for Chinese internet censors. Any news reports regarding the North Korean leader are tightly controlled by Beijing.

At the end of March, Kim visited China to hold talks with President Xi Jinping in his first foreign visit since taking power in 2011.

Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing in March

Kim Jong-un shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing in March

Kim Jong-un (second to the left) and his wife Ri Sol-ju (far left) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (second to the right) and his wife Peng Liyuan (far fight) in Beijing in March

Kim Jong-un (second to the left) and his wife Ri Sol-ju (far left) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (second to the right) and his wife Peng Liyuan (far fight) in Beijing in March

Beijing heavily censored online articles regarding Kim’s four-day visit and only confirmed the meeting on the last day of Kim’s stay.

Kim’s secret visit to Beijing in March drew him a number of new nicknames in China, including ‘fatty on the train’ (火车上的胖子) and ‘obese patient’ (肥胖病人).

Kim was nicknamed ‘fatty on the train’ because he arrived in China by train after travelling through the Chinese-North Korean border in Dandong.

While ‘obese patient’ refers the North Korea leader’s expanding figure and Kim’s previous rumoured health status.

Ruled by Communist regimes and sharing a borderline, China and North Korea have been close military allies and trading partners. 

However, the two countries’ relations were strained after China backed the UN sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear and missile programmes.

The two nations are once again on good terms after Kim Jong-un visited China twice to meet Xi Jinping in March and May – apparently to consult his ‘big brother’ on important political decisions.  

Xi Jinping (right) speaks to Kim Jong-un during a meeting in Dalian, north-east China, in May

Xi Jinping (right) speaks to Kim Jong-un during a meeting in Dalian, north-east China, in May



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