Chinese newspaper red-faced after falling for 'Onion's' Kim Jong-un 'Sexiest Man Alive' spoof
London, Nov. 28 (ANI)
China's Communist Party online newspaper has fallen for a report in the US satirical website, The Onion, which showed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as the sexist man alive.
The People's Daily on Tuesday ran a photo spread on its website in a tribute to the round-faced leader, under the headline 'North Korea's top leader named The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive for 2012.'
He is shown riding horses, holding children and greeting his troops.
"With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-born heart-throb is every woman's dream come true," the People's Daily quotes The Onion as saying.
"Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper's editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle and, of course, that famous smile," the paper added.
"I wouldn't say I'm surprised," Onion editor Will Tracy told the BBC, responding to the People's Daily feature.
"I mean, this kind of thing has happened in different forms before, so it never totally takes us by surprise, although it's a total delight whenever it does happen," Tracy added.
The Onion, which ran its Sexiest Man Alive story earlier in the month, had an update to its article on Tuesday.
"For more coverage," it wrote," please visit our friends at the People's Daily in China, a proud Communist subsidiary of The Onion, Inc. Exemplary reportage, comrades."
According to the report, the Onion said previous winners of its Sexiest Man Alive prize included Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and US financial swindler Bernard Madoff, who is currently serving a 150-year prison sentence.