The North Korean leader was seated on stage, apparently listening to a speech at a meeting of mothers from across the country last week, when the tears started to flow. He took a deep breath as if to hold it in. His eyes grew redder, and he dabbed at them with a handkerchief.

State television captured the moment and broadcast it to the nation, cutting between Kim Jong Un crying and shots of teary-eyed mothers in the crowd.

The images of a man widely regarded as a brutal dictator shedding tears have attracted the attention of international media, some of