Move, Tom Cruise!
Kim Jong Un channeled his inner misfit from the hit 1986 film Top Gun to star in a bizarre film Hollywood style video for North Korea’s recent missile launch.
The diminutive despot took on a larger-than-life role in Pyongyang’s slick production – sporting a shiny leather jacket and chic aviator shades as he oversaw the first launch of the Hwasong-17 on Thursday.
Flanked by military officers, Kim is shown walking and pointing in slow motion as the hangar doors swing open to reveal the massive ICBM.
The ’80s-inspired soundtrack speeds up as the video cuts back and forth between Kim and the officers checking their watches – before the strongman removes his sunglasses.
He then looks dramatically into the camera and subtly nods to begin the launch sequence.
North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un channeled “Top Gun,” wearing a leather jacket and aviator sunglasses, in a Hollywood-style video for North Korea’s latest missile launch. AFP via Getty Images
An officer yells into a phone, a soldier waves a flag, and several rogue regime troops begin yelling in a command pendant as the countdown begins.
“Fire!” shouts one of Kim’s men, causing the start button to be pressed.
The rocket flies skyward, spewing red flames and thick smoke as Kim and his entourage raise their hands in triumph.
The next scene features a smiling Kim walking shoulder to shoulder with soldiers dressed in desert-style combat uniforms and body armor.
Accompanied by an ’80s-inspired soundtrack, the video shows North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un dramatically removing his sunglasses and ordering the rocket launch. AFP via Getty Images
The surreal clip quickly sparked memes and remixes on social media, where users dubbed the dictator “Top Kim” and compared the video to South Korean K-pop hit “Gangnam Style” — changed to “Pyongyang Style.”
The Korean Central News Agency said the Hwasong-17, which was first unveiled in October 2020, reached a maximum altitude of 3,880 miles and flew 680 miles in 67 minutes before crashing into Japanese waters.
Kim previously rose to viral fame when he rode up the sacred Mount Paektu on a white horse in October 2019.
The video inspired numerous spoofs and memes on social media. AP
His father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, was an avid film buff who, according to the Guardian, ordered the kidnapping of a South Korean director and an actor in 1978 to help develop the Hermit Kingdom’s cinema industry.
With mail wires