A group of North Korean cheerleaders were briefly wowed by the apparent, sudden arrival of their leader, Kim Jong Un, at a Winter Olympics ice hockey game on Feb. 14.
Some cheerleaders immediately averted their gaze as the impersonator, who later only identified himself as Howard, smiled and waved to crowds who came to watch a unified Korean team play Japan at the Pyeongchang Games.
“They are playing a good game, they scored one goal. As a president, it’s all I can ask for,” Howard told Reuters, shortly after plain-clothed officials from South Korea’s National Counter-terrorism Centre moved him away from the cheerleaders, who he said had been doing a very good job.
“I mean I trained them by myself so, of course, they’re the best in the world,” Howard said.
Howard had caused a commotion during the Feb. 9 opening ceremony when he and a person dressed as U.S. President Donald Trump were swiftly shown out of the stadium by security staff.
He said he was briefly detained inside a police office during Wednesday’s match then “politely asked” to leave.