The following article is an opinion piece by Aidan Foster-Carter, an honorary senior research fellow in sociology and modern Korea at Leeds University in England. Views expressed in opinion articles are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

“Applause and cheers erupted from the attendees for each phrase of the president’s congratulatory speech … when the president finished his … speech, all attendees stood up and applauded, agreeing with the president’s will …”

These sentences must be from North Korean state media, right? Those drearily familiar Pyongyang tics and tropes. The bombast. The sycophancy. The