Stalin, another dictator from the Soviet Union used doubles. He armed and trained N.Korea under the reign of Kim Il-sung, founding father. No wonder Kim dynasty also used doubles following Stalin’s footstep.

Tetsu, Tokyo, Japan

The North Korean ideology is technically called Il Juce - loosely meaning freedom - which is uses to justify its non-aligment with anything. Secondly there is a painting in the state art gallery where a rival to Kim's father has been painted out and Kim Il Sung made several inches taller.

Gozza, London, UK

P. Conlon, CINCINNATI, U.S.A. so is US democracry look at the jokes in power now...

Darren, London, UK

Robert Texas - you fail to see past your blind ignorance of the US government and buy into the whole anti-commi propoganda too easily. Bob has hit thenail on the head. I agree with him. YES - communism is bad - but so is blind faith in democracy especially when it is also run for evil purposes!!!

Eugine Daley, Chicago, USA

Wasn't it just a year or two ago the North popped off what was officially called a "construction blast" that sent a mushroom cloud to 15,000 meters? The heat required to lift any weight of dust and water that high can come only from the Sun or a nuke.

Tom Bright, Sacramento, United States

Look up Saddam Hussein, the kangaroo court the USA setup hung his double. Look at his bottom teeth, yellow/rotten, very crooked during his trial, but during publicity photo's with Dick Cheney, they're white, dead straight and look perfect. Doubles are used more often than you'd believe.

Richard, Nicosia, Cyprus

Communism is a living lie.......anything is possible there.

P. Conlon, CINCINNATI, U.S.A.

I see fake Americans who hate other Americans who critically (analyzing, which is not a negative process) look at America's policies. Bob is right. He doesn't have to move anywhere. Only fascists would want to have people who disagree with them to move like that guy from Irvine wants.

Steve, Haiku, Hawaii

Easy to believe in a regime where every shred of information is controlled by the government. Years ago, Kim Jong-Il played his first round of golf and shot a 52 with 4 hole-in-ones. Laughable, if not for the occasional escaped refugee story of guards patrolling cemeteries to minimize canabalism.

Jose, Montclair, NJ, USA

The author of the book: "a veteran Japanese expert " ... sure.
Certainly smells like something CIA / MI5 might have cooked up - again !
Remember Italian yellow-cake Uranium letter "discovered" by MI5 and touted by CIA before the IRAQ war ?

It wouldn't be the first time, nor the last

Norris, California, USA

N. Korea is indeed a sad place. People like "bob, highlands ranch/colorado USA" should spend some time there. Then he might have more appreciation for his own country.

Patrick C., Irvine,CA, USA

Stop it! You're killing me with this British humor. Or is it humour?

Lee, Mule Shoe, TX, USA

Bob if you trying to be cute and compare N Korea with the United States, you're making a fool of yourself. You musn't know much about the depth of evil that eminates from Communist Korean Government. The regular N Korean citizen can't read a bible or pray in public. The eat grass to survive etc.

Robert , Texas, USA

This so-called "country", North Korea, should be dissolved as a separate political entity and then merged into a single country with South Korea.

MIKE in NYC, NYC, USA

Wretched people, wretched country. Constant government doing constant things, like taking money from the people to finance businesses, spying on the people of the country, developing nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, imprisoning people who protest at government conventions . Hmm

bob, highlands ranch/colorado, USA

despite being communist, the north koreans still have ingrained many aspects of old school, hard core confucianism. anyway...in the old confucian way of doing things, when a leader/father died the successor should change policy for seven (or 8?) years. where are the pics necessary to decide?

kelvin, dalian, china

If this is true, there will be an internal struggle for power. The results would be in line with Iraq, as the citizen finally make their move into the 21st century.

Steve, Los Angles,

No, no, Andrew. I believe that's Disneyland.

Patrick, Lexington, KY, USA

Presumably they`ve only met the stand-in`s stand-in ?

Must be a prime job in the last outpost of Stalinism, judging by the well-nourished profile.

Is he the `Dear Doppleganger ` ?

Perce, hinckley,

So they've just swapped a' Muppet ' for a ' Puppet ' !

PR, Manchester,

In North Korea nothing is impossible!

Andrew, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire,