Kim Jong-Il, the reclusive and eccentric "Dear Leader" and dictator of North Korea, is hardly ever seen in public, even within the closed nation, and his pattern of summits with other world leaders -- plus a myriad of unnamed sources -- has led a Japanese professor and onetime journalist to theorize that body doubles who had been groomed to protect the ruler from assassination have been leading North Korea since 2003. Here are some news photos gathered from Kim's rare public appearances before and after that time.
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