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Kim Jong Un fawns over North Korea's first female fighter pilots

Kim could not stop grinning as he allowed the two women to link arms with him.

By Elizabeth Shim
North Korea media announced on Monday that Kim Jong Un presented bouquets and words of admiration for the country's first female fighter pilots. Photo by Rodong Sinmun/Yonhap
North Korea media announced on Monday that Kim Jong Un presented bouquets and words of admiration for the country's first female fighter pilots. Photo by Rodong Sinmun/Yonhap

SEOUL, June 22 (UPI) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un spoke highly of the country's first female fighter jet pilots during an airfield visit.

Pyongyang's state-controlled media outlet KCNA claimed Kim called fighter jet pilots Jo Kum Hyang and Rim Sol "heroes of Korea" and "flowers of the sky," CNN reported.

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Photographs of the two women depicted them crying as they accepted flower bouquets from Kim.

Kim could not stop grinning as he allowed the two women to link arms with him, as they posed for an official photo, Yonhap reported.

According to KCNA, Kim said, "Young [North Korean] women flying alone in planes is something to brag about to the world."

Kim said the women had achieved what even men would have found difficult – flying a MiG-21 or a MiG-15 over the skies of North Korea.

Kim said their achievement sets an example for soldiers.

The North Korean leader reportedly handpicked the two pilots in November 2014 when he saw that their abilities to maneuver fighter planes outdid their peers during a training session.

Kim seemed to have high regard for Jo. Last November, Kim gave her the nickname "Phoenix" for her skills.

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CNN reported the pilots were flying what appeared to be Soviet-era MiG-21 supersonic fighter jets. They could also have been flying a Chinese version of that aircraft, the Chengdu J-7 supersonic fighter jet.

The pilots wept and thanked Kim for "giving them wings to fly and courage."

Jo and Rim said they would guard Kim with their lives, by flying "in the aerial front line," in order to "safeguard Kim Jong Un through a thousand miles of clouds and 10,000 miles of fire."

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