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Kim Jong-un called 'better than Trump' after he weeps during speech, apologizes for failure to handle Covid-19

'You know it's 2020 when the North Korean dictator takes more responsibility for his mistakes than the president of the United States'

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shed tears and became emotional in what was a rare sight for him during a military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the country's Workers' Party, as he issued an apology for his failures during the coronavirus outbreak.

The leader was seen removing his glasses and wiping away his tears as he delivered a speech at the parade. According to a translation in The Korea Times, he said, "Our people have placed trust, as high as the sky and as deep as the sea, in me, but I have failed to always live up to it satisfactorily. I am really sorry for that. Although I am entrusted with the important responsibility to lead this country upholding the cause of the great Comrades Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il thanks to the trust of all the people, my efforts and sincerity have not been sufficient enough to rid our people of the difficulties in their lives."

Political analysts said the emotional display during the speech was due to the mounting pressure on his regime given that Kim is faced with three hardships afflicting his people, Covid-19, international sanctions and natural disasters. Hong Min, director of the North Korea division at the Korean Institute for National Unification, told the Korea Times: "Underneath his message, one can sense that Kim is feeling a lot of pressure on his leadership. During the speech, he used terms like 'grave challenges', 'countless ordeals' and 'disasters unprecedented in history.' This shows that he is having a really hard time governing, and he feels pressured from worries that his people might be upset or swayed by this kind of difficulty. That is why he put a lot of emphasis on the people in this speech." 

Meanwhile, people on social media were quick to compare Kim's reaction to that of President Donald Trump who has refused to admit that he handled the coronavirus outbreak in his country poorly despite the fact that the number of deaths from the pandemic in the US has crossed 200,000.

"You know it's 2020 when the North Korean dictator takes more responsibility for his mistakes than the president of the United States #TrumpCovid #KimJongUn" one wrote while another said, "Trump trying to be Kim Jong-un. Kim jong-un trying not to be trump." A third remarked, "I wonder if Bloatus is taking notes on Kim Jong-un's 'We beat covid-19 parade' where he shows off his new missile & tells crying people that he beat covid in his country. I'm sure we will be having a similar parade soon regardless of how many people still are infected or dying."

Another commented, "Kim Jong-un, who is visibly crying this speech, declares that not a single person in North Korea has gotten Covid-19 and lived to tell the tale." One more user wrote, "Kim Jong-un apologizes for letting his people starve to death then parades new intercontinental missiles." Someone else opined, "Kim Jong-un is responsible for plenty of horrible things so let’s not take those crocodile tears and go 'ah see he’s a sweet guys. Better than Trump!”