In a rare apology for his failure in leading the country through difficult times during his speech last Saturday (Oct. 10), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took off his glasses and cried.

Shawn Ho, Associate Research Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Singapore, told Mothership that Kim might have felt that he has not lived up to the expectations in delivering some of his promises to the North Korean people who have had to deal with continuing hardships.  He added that another possible reason Kim was feeling emotional during the speech was the occasion itself. As it was an occasion celebrating his grandfather’s founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea, which was subsequently led by his father, perhaps the weight of expectation he has to match up to them also got to him on that day, Ho opined.