The dictator was also seen sporting much smaller eyebrows than usual

New hairstyle has inspired comparisons with 90s pop stars and actors

He has abandoned centre-parting for a new swept-back pompadour look

Kim Jong-un has appeared in public sporting a retro haircut that appears to have been inspired by Will Smith's character in 90s American TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

The modish monocrat debuted his 'high and tight' crop during a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in North Korean capital Pyonyang yesterday.

Although he went for his signature severe shaved sides, Kim also appeared to have spent a long time crafting and blow-drying the top of his hair into a distinctive wedge that left the trendsetting tyrant looking somewhere between the Fresh Prince and early 90s heart-throb Jason Priestly.

The hairstyle wasn't the only update to the North Korean leader's distinctive look, however. He also sported much smaller eyebrows than usual - suggesting he'd spent a considerable amount of time plucking excess hair from his forehead before meeting with party officials.

Grand design: Kim Jong-un debuted his 'high and tight' crop during a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in North Korean capital Pyonyang yesterday

Lookalike: Kim appears to have spent a long time crafting and blow drying the top of his hair into a distinctive wedge to resemble Will Smith's character in 90s American TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air

SquarePants: Kim Jong-un's new haircut has inevitably inspired a number of memes on social media

Tough guy: Kim's elaborately blow-dried hair has drawn comparisons with Guile in video game Street Fighter

During appearances in 2014, Kim's hair was tightly cropped at the sides and left longer on top.

He would then use hair gel to create a curtain-style centre-parting in order to look more like his grandfather - the revered Kim Il-sung who, despite dying in 1994, still holds the title of Eternal President of the Republic of North Korea.

But during yesterday's meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, the debonair despot sported a well-crafted pompadour, with his thick black hair swept backwards with the help of a hairdryer, and pushed out at the sides to create a wedge effect.

While his new hairstyle led to comparisons with early 90s actors and pop stars, the alterations he made to his eyebrows received less positive reviews - with Twitter users branding the new look 'odd' and 'strange'.

Kim's creation: The new look prompted social media users to compare it with his 2014 signature style (left)

Trim: Kim's hair wasn't the only update to his distinctive look. He also sported much smaller eyebrows than usual suggesting he'd spent time plucking for his forehead before meeting party officials

Inspiration: One person compared the North Korean leader's new hairstyle to an old-fashioned telephone

Some have compared Kim Jong-Un's new haircut and spectacles look to Dave the Minion in Despicable Me

Uncanny: Kim Jong-un's new look appears to have been inspired by early 90s heart-throb Jason Priestly

100,000 NORTH KOREANS WORKING AROUND THE WORLD AS 'STATE SPONSORED SLAVES' As many as 100,000 desperately poor North Koreans have been senT to work overseas as 'state-sponsored slaves', human rights activists have claimed. The practice has been used since the 1980s - but has reportedly accelerated under Kim Jong-un, who seized control of the country following the death of his father in 2011. Until 2012 there were thought to be up to 65,000 North Korean workers around the globe, often living and working in horrific conditions. That number has since risen to around 100,000, activists told The New York Times. Ahn Myeong-chul, head of the Seoul-based NK Watch human rights group, said North Korea is 'exploiting their labour and salaries to fatten the private coffers of Kim Jong-un.' Advertisement

Kim's changing appearance came as the U.S. National Security Agency identified North Korea as the source of the recent cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment after analyzing the software used in the intrusion, NSA Director Admiral Michael Rogers.

Speaking to a Canadian security conference, Rogers explained that the discovery was part of the agency's efforts to develop software to counter cyberattacks.

'We ultimately ended up generating the signatures to recognize the activity ... used against Sony,' Rogers said. 'From the time the malware left North Korea to the time it got to Sony's headquarters in California, it crossed four different commanders' lines or areas in the U.S. construct.'

Sony's network was attacked by hackers in November as the company prepared to release 'The Interview,' a comedy about a fictional plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The attack was followed by online leaks of unreleased movies and emails that caused embarrassment to executives and Hollywood personalities.