Revealed: The identity of the mysterious grinning white man enjoying a rollercoaster ride with North Korea's Dear Leader

A mysterious foreigner photographed riding a rollercoaster with the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been identified.

The picture, released by the secretive North Korean regime last week, showed Kim enjoying himself at a fun park in his famine-stricken country's capital Pyongyang.

Kim was showing off his new wife Ri Sol-Ju at the opening ceremony for Rungna People's Pleasure Ground before he tried out the ride with state officials .

Sat i n a seat in front of him , and looking like he was enjoying the ride, was the unnamed Westerner.

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The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London has confirmed the identity of Barnaby Jones (ringed) sat in front of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un

Foreigners are rarely seen alongside the leader and the man's appearance sparked a flurry of speculation as to his identity.

But one week on and the mystery has been solved - the man was British junior diplomat Barnaby Jones, Mother Jones magazine reported.



It said multiple sources confirmed the name, and that he works with the British Embassy in Pyongyang.



Jones was previously referred to in the Los Angeles Times around the time of the death of the new leader's father, Kim Jong Il, as the embassy's 'first secretary'.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London then confirmed Jones's identity when it was reached by phone.

However, the office would not make Jones available for an interview, citing his busy work schedule.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (centre) on a ride as he attends the completion ceremony of the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (centre), accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-Ju (right), visiting a wading pool at the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground in Pyongyang

In a follow-up statement to Mother Jones , a spokesperson described the event at the amusement park as 'unusual'.

It said: 'Pyongyang's diplomatic community was invited to the opening of the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground.

'This included the Chargé d'Affaires of the British Embassy, who accepted the invitation to attend.

'While this was an unusual event, it is vital that we actively engage with the North Korean administration since we work closely with them on a number of humanitarian, cultural and education projects which benefit the people of North Korea.'

Charles Armstrong, director of the Center for Korean Research at Columbia University, said: 'That is quite surprising to show a foreigner in such proximity to Kim Jong Un.

'Normally pictures of the leader with a foreigner would be carefully staged.'

In Armstrong's view, it's an attempt by Kim and the new leadership to cast off the stuffy image of his father and establish him in a new light.

'I've never seen a picture of his father or grandfather ride an amusement park ride,' he said. 'Then to be in the next car over with a youngish looking foreigner seems to convey more of a human image.'

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