Kim Jong Un’s Magical Airbrush

Before and after pictures where you see Jang Song Thaek, Kim Jong Un's purged uncle, and then you don't

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After having his uncle — and longtime regime insider — Jang Song Thaek executed earlier this month, Kim Jong Un’s totalitarian state has set about purging any historical trace of the “traitor” Jang. In the 21st century, Stalinist airbrushing may be one of the more futile, anachronistic measures in a despot’s toolkit. But Kim’s North Korea is a land apart and thousands of government documents and photographs have been removed from the Internet, presumably so that references to Jang can be erased. TIME presents three instances here of Kim’s airbrush at work.

NKOREA-SKOREA-POLITICS-MILITARY-KIM
NKOREA-SKOREA-POLITICS-MILITARY-KIM
Ministry of Unification / AFP / Getty Images

A scene from the documentary “The Great Comrade” on North Korean state broadcaster KCTV.

NKOREA-SKOREA-POLITICS-MILITARY-KIM
NKOREA-SKOREA-POLITICS-MILITARY-KIM
Ministry of Unification / AFP / Getty Images

A scene from the documentary “The Great Comrade” on North Korean state broadcaster KCTV.

NKOREA-SKOREA-POLITICS-MILITARY-KIM
NKOREA-SKOREA-POLITICS-MILITARY-KIM
Ministry of Unification / AFP / Getty Images

A scene from the documentary “The Great Comrade” on North Korean state broadcaster KCTV.