North Korean media appears to show early 'A-bomb photo'

Updated

North Korea released footage of an arms and munitions industry conference that appears to show former leader Kim Jong-il inspecting one of the country's first ever atomic bombs.

The photo of Kim Jong-il was spotted during a 30-minute bulletin being shown at the Dec. 12 conference in Pyongyang and has reportedly never been seen in the West. The photo is visible for only seconds as the camera sets the scene of the conference, which was attended by North Korea Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, the son of the late Kim Jong-il, BBC reported.


Twitter

In the photo, Kim Jong-il appears to be inspecting something that looks like a large globe, but experts say the object bears resemblance to a more recent photo of his son inspecting what the country claims to be its first hydrogen bomb.

Kim Jong-un inspects claimed hydrogen bomb in September 2017. (Getty)

If real, experts hypothesize that the photo was captured sometime between 2006-2009, when North Korea first began carrying out nuclear tests.

The strange photo was first captured by a hawk-eyed viewer on Twitter, who wrote: "Is this an A-bomb or sth [something]?"

U.S. arms control expert Jeffrey Lewis later replied to the tweeter's inquiry, saying: "This is the photo we’re all ogling."

Experts have yet to definitively say whether the object is an atomic bomb due to the fleeting appearance of the photo from distance. As BBC noted, the globe could also be a mock-up as there are reportedly no records of scientists miniaturizing nuclear devices at that time.

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Still, if the object is proven to be an atomic bomb it would not be the first time the country has "accidentally" let slip surprising information.

Earlier this year, North Korea revealed its plans for ballistic missile types previously unknown when they were left on wall charts during coverage Kim Jong-un's visit to a defense facility.

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