Hanoi - An Australian impersonator of North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un was deported Monday from Vietnam, days before Kim is
scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump in Hanoi, the actor said.
The impersonator, known by his stage name Howard X, was escorted from
his hotel by three officials early Monday, according to his Facebook
page, which included photos of him at the gate of a Vietnam Airlines
flight leaving for Singapore from Hanoi's Noi Bai airport.
X, who plays Kim professionally for events and advertisements,
appeared last week on the streets of Hanoi alongside a Trump
impersonator named Russell White, who has not been deported.
The two men, both sporting the signature haircuts of Kim and Trump
respectively, were photographed shaking hands on the steps of the
Hanoi Opera House in a mock diplomatic ceremony on Friday with hired
security guards.
That night, they were detained and questioned by police and told not
to appear in public during the summit.
X posted on Facebook on Sunday that he had been informed of his
impending deportation, adding he was told his visa had been declared
invalid.
"It just proves that all dictatorships fears any forms of satire,
even something as trivial as an impersonator," he posted.
Trump and Kim are due to meet on February 27 and 28 to discuss
denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, following last year's
summit in Singapore.