This is something you probably never expected to see:  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un channeling John Travolta à la Saturday Night Fever as he toured a tractor factory.

So did the corpulent Dear Leader achieve the svelte and sexy Tony Manero look?

Giphy.com.

Um, not quite. But you be the judge.

Kim Jong Un dons John Travolta-style white flares as he takes a TRACTOR for a spin https://t.co/4SaRplgvTC pic.twitter.com/vn8BVvTodP

— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) August 23, 2023

He did check out the tractors and even drove one in that white suit.

Kim also demanded that North Korea modernize their agricultural machinery so the country can achieve “world class level.” Right now they’re facing growing food shortages, especially since North Korea has experienced a series of disasters over the decades.

There was famine in the 1990’s. Draconian border closures during the Covid pandemic made the shortages even worse, as they couldn’t trade. Other experts also blame UN sanctions and the country’s own mismanagement, such as poor drainage and deforestation issues. Throughout all these natural disasters neither of the Kims, father or son, did much to alleviate the suffering of the people.

And then last week tropical storm Khanun swept across the Korean Peninsula leaving damage in its wake, including the destruction of over 667 acres of rice paddies.

So perhaps the tour of the tractor factory while wearing a spiffy suit was to signal that Kim was on the job. He’s ready to tackle those food shortages!

Second Satellite Launch Fail

However, on the same day that Kim was touring the tractor factory, North Korea attempted its second launch of a spy satellite. And like the first attempt in May, this one also failed.

That was enough for Japan to issue a “J-alert” requiring some residents to evacuate to safe spaces as the rocket flew over southern parts of Okinawa.

So what happened before the missile dunked into the Pacific?

North Korea was using a new rocket, the Chollima-1 in order to put the Malligyong-1, a reconnaissance rocket, into orbit. The first and second stages of the launch worked fine, but an emergency blasting system failed during the third stage of the launch.

But Kim isn’t about to give up. He never throws in the towel when it comes to launching his beloved missiles.

Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst said:

Kim may have licked his wounds after this second failure, but he’s already dusting himself off and moving on. In previous cases where the North has failed a weapons demonstration, we never saw them give up but show greater perseverance in view of their longer-term ambitions.

So North Korea plans a third launch in October.

Kim Jong Un Violating UN Security Council Resolutions

After the failed launch, South Korea accused the North of violating U.N. Security Council resolutions that ban any launches by North Korea using ballistic technologies. Plus, Japan’s chief Cabinet secretary, Hirokazu Matsuno, declared the launch to be a “threat to peace and stability.”

Adrienne Watson of the White House National Security Council also condemned the launch, while senior diplomats from the US, Japan, and South Korea conferred by phone. They warned that launches would only further strengthen the Washington-Tokyo-Seoul cooperation. Will that stop Kim Jong Un? Nah.

What may have provoked Kim into launching the spy satellite were the annual military drills that South Korea and the US engage in for a total of 11 days. But they’re not just regular military exercises in the eyes of North Korea — they see it as rehearsal for the invasion of the country. The North Korean state media also said these drills are increasing the likelihood of nuclear war on the Korean peninsula.

But Kim won’t tamp down that risk. In fact, he has some high-tech weapons on his wishlist. Not only does he want to successfully launch a spy satellite, he wants to get his mitts on a multi-warhead missile, a nuclear-powered submarine, a solid-propellant intercontinental ballistic missile and a hypersonic missile.

Kim Cares More About Satellites Than His People

Meanwhile, the North Korean people are starving. Many of their fields have been flooded due to poor management and decisions from the top. But priorities, you know! Gotta launch a spy satellite.

If Kim Jong Un was a leader who cared about his people, he’d put more attention into achieving that “world class level” agricultural output. He’d work to put food into his peoples’ bellies, not spy satellites atop yet more rockets.

Kim’s satellite launch failed at “Stayin’ Alive” before it splashed into the Pacific. The real tragedy is that too many of his people aren’t stayin’ alive, either.

Featured image: “kim jong un” by Ronald Menti is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Cropped.