Kim Jong-un, the heir to the North Korean regime, has reportedly undergone plastic surgery so that he more closely resembles his grandfather, the deeply respected Kim Il-sung.

The speculation began in South Korea after the release last week of the first official photographs of the 27-year-old son of Kim Jong-il.

The images show a chubby, nervous looking young man sitting in the front row of a packed auditorium as he was named vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party and a four-star general. In the images, the family resemblance between Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-un is obvious. The youngest in the Kim dynasty has the same chubby cheeks as his grandfather, a double chin and the familiar mouth that turns down at the ends. He also apparently favours his predecessor's preference for having his hair cut very short at the sides and swept back on top.

The images are in stark contrast to previous photographs, which depict Kim as a slender teenager who looks nothing like his paternal grandfather.

South Korean newspapers suggested that in the intervening years he had undergone surgery to boost his standing with the public....