When Kim Jong Un made his first official trip outside North Korea in March, he slipped into China aboard an armored train and his countrymen didn't learn about it until he was safely home. Kim's excursion to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump was a much different story.
During Kim's three days in Singapore, North Korean state media trumpeted daily images never before seen in Pyongyang. There on the front page of the ruling party's flagship newspaper was Kim touring monuments to capitalism, stepping out of a Chinese jet and smiling while shaking hands with the "imperialist" U.S. president.
The propaganda push not only signaled Kim's new confidence on the world stage after a series of diplomatic wins, it also conveyed a desire for greater openness and economic development. In the past, North Korean leaders had avoided images like the borrowed jet — a sign of the country's industrial weakness — or casual interactions with U.S. officials, which undercuts decades of official animosity.
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