Out of the blue: 'Captain DPRK' brightens up North Korean defence exhibition

FILE PHOTO: North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un takes pictures with military personnel at the Defence Development Exhibition, in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this undated photo released on October 12, 2021 by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA via REUTERS

SEOUL (Reuters) - A North Korean parachutist has lit up social media with his shiny blue jumpsuit as he posed with ranks of olive-green clad military men and leader Kim Jong Un after taking a jump at the opening ceremony of a defence exhibition.

"Rocket Man", "Captain DPRK" and "Human Cannonball" were some of the names admiring Twitter users gave the unidentified parachutist who brightened up what are usually dull official events in North Korea, or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), as it is officially known.

State media showed the parachutist, who also wore a multi-coloured helmet and white sneakers, descending from the sky with the flag of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea at the opening ceremony in Pyongyang on Tuesday.

An apparently impressed Kim was shown looking up smiling.

"A top-notch parachutist showed landing skills, fluttering red Party flag in the sky in October," North Korea's KCNA news agency said.

(Reporting by Minwoo Park and Heejung Jung; Editing by Karishma Singh)