Kim Jong Un's new hairstyle a real head-scratcher

PYONGYANG, North Korea, Feb. 19 (UPI) -- It's not a warhead that has caused the latest imbroglio in Pyongyang -- it's Kim Jong Un's new head of hair. And those brows.

The reclusive leader stepped into the fashion spotlight with the new look at his government's politburo meeting Wednesday, the shockwaves from which have rippled from Communist North Korea to fashion-forward Hollywood, USA -- and all points in between.

For lack of a better description, here it is: Flat-top-like hair that reaches for the sky, a skin-tight shave on the lower sides and clipped eyebrows that appear more like Hitler's trademark stubby mustache seen through double vision.

It might seem strange that a change in a communist leader's hairstyle would cause so much global commotion. Neither Nikita Khrushchev nor Leonid Brezhnev ever received such press, but Kim's new appearance has some wondering what any of it could mean.

"Is it intended to signify that North Korea, like Kim Jong Un's hair, is reaching new heights and cannot be stopped by gravity or any other natural force?" news website Vox quipped. "Does his haircut sail majestically ever-upwards, unlike the North Korean Unha rocket that failed spectacularly after launch in 2012, breaking up over the Sea of Japan?"

"If this is in fact a fake picture, the real Kim Jong Un needs to get on black-and-white television or whatever they have in North Korea and show his real hair. That's how bad this is. It requires immediate refutation," sports site Fansided said.

Here are a few of the greatest hits from Twitter, which reacted to Kim's makeover Thursday:

However, Kim Jong Un's Hair has yet to comment on its new appearance.

Last March, the North Korean government made headlines when it it was covered by numerous media outlets that a new 'fashion guideline' stipulated that all men in the country must get haircuts matching their leader's. The story was later determined to be a hoax.

Kim, 32, has been North Korea's leader for three years. In 2013, he was named by Forbes magazine as the 46th most powerful person in the world.

The North Korean ruler has generated much controversy since taking power, particularly with regard to his nation's nuclear program. Two years ago, Britain's Daily Telegraph published a story that detailed Kim's nuclear strategy, titled "US mainland strike plan," that included warheads aimed at Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Hawaii and Austin, Texas.