This is the moment a Kim Jong-un impersonator was bundled away by security after dancing in front of North Korea’s cheerleaders.
Spectators were watching the unified Korean ice hockey team take on Japan in South Korea’s Gangneung arena this morning when the lookalike appeared in the stands.
Pictures show him waving a flag in front of Pyongyang’s team of cheerleaders before a group of men arrived to push him away.
The English-speaking impersonator, who identified himself only as Howard, later denied that he was making a political statement and told police: ‘I just showed up with my flag and my face… If you don’t like my face there’s nothing you can do about it, I was born this way.’
This is the moment an English-speaking Kim Jong-un impersonator was bundled away by security after dancing in front of North Korea’s cheerleaders
Removed: The impersonator was quickly pushed away from the North Korean cheerleaders but was later released
Pictures show him waving a flag in front of Pyongyang’s team of cheerleaders before men in black coats arrive to push him away
Vincent Bevins, who works for the Washington Post, posted a clip of the drama unfolding and said security did not appear to know what to do with the impersonator, who identified himself only as Howard.
Bevins wrote: ‘Police have now surrounded and asked the apparent impersonator to come with him, he says his name’s Howard, was just cheering and looks like this, and didn’t commit any crime. Refuses to go with them. South Korea police apparently unsure what to do.’
‘He speaks English with UK accent, no Korean. They’ve now told him he broke a rule against making political statements. He responds: “I just showed up with my flag and my face… If you don’t like my face there’s nothing you can do about it, I was born this way.”
Witnesses said security did not appear to know what to do with the impersonator, who identified himself only as Howard
The lookalike waved a flag in front of the team of North Korean cheerleaders before being moved away
South Korean police surround a man impersonating North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after he appeared before North Korean cheerleaders attending the Unified Korean ice hockey game against Japan during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games
Bevins said he sensed police ‘didn’t know what to do with him. If he was breaking a rule or just making an obvious commotion and drawing a crowd. This just happened in front of me, and I’m unlikely to find out more. Maybe we’ll hear Howard’s story later.’
Eventually, footage emerged showing him smiling and posing for photos after apparently being released.
In 2016, a Kim Jong-un impersonator called Howard was also seen waving the North Korean flag and appearing in the stands at the Rio Olympic Games.
In an interview, he said he had been professionally impersonating the head of one of the world’s most secretive regimes since April 2013.
He identified himself only as Howard and said he was in his 30s and based in Hong Kong.
He told the Independent at the Time: ‘Most people at the games realised I was an impersonator. But some people were saying things like what is he doing without his bodyguard?’
Howard said he chose to take up the act in protest against the ‘completely disgusting’ North Korean regime.
He added: ‘I have never got in any sort of legal trouble or got arrested, after all, I am not in North Korea! I’ve had plenty of weird reactions – usually, it’s that sudden shock that they think they are in the presence of the real guy.’