On June 14, North Korea broadcast a lengthy 42-minute state media documentary about the country's Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's historic summit with US President Donald Trump.

When the two leaders met, Trump reportedly showed Kim a four-minute video styled after a Hollywood movie trailer.

If you found this turn of events slightly odd, you might have even more difficulty wrapping your head around this North Korean mini flick, or propaganda video, as some would call it.

The video centred on Kim, such as him departing from Pyongyang aboard an Air China plane:

As his comrades gave him a warm send-off:

And he was greeted by hordes of people who turned up to catch a glimpse of the Supreme Leader in Singapore:

The famous North Korean newsreader Ri Chun-hee had this to say about the crowds (translation via New York Post):

"A lot of leaders of different countries have visited Singapore but it is unprecedented in the history of Singapore to have streets filled with the welcoming crowd like this."

She also took the opportunity to embellish her leader's star factor (translation via New York Times):

"The streets were overflowing with people adoring our great leader, who is driving complex international politics with supernormal political acumen."

And the video even included shots of Kim lounging in his luxurious suite at the St Regis hotel (they left out the part where Singapore picked up the tab):

Singapore's glitzy skyline shown to the North Koreans

Perhaps rather surprisingly, Singapore's glitzy skyline was shown in the video too.

North Korean state media usually censors both its local and foreign content.

It is extremely rare for them to allow its people glimpses of the outside world that is much richer than its "socialist paradise", as it might encourage North Koreans to defect.

The video not only showed the Air China passenger jet Kim used for his flight to Singapore, but it also featured him admiring the "clean and beautiful" buildings in the brightly-lit city during a night time stroll.

This is stunning considering how pitch black North Korea is situated next to a well-lit South Korea.

When Singapore's port was also shown, the newscaster said it connects "530 shipping routes and 700 ports around the world", essentially playing up Singapore's achievements.

[related_story]

Part of North Korea's propaganda playbook

The decision to include clips to allow North Koreans a glimpse of Singapore is part of the propaganda playbook.

It serves the state's interests if the regime can show that Singapore is a model to be followed and our country takes on an aspirational quality.

The perspective of North Koreans is also altered as they are led to imagine Kim being hosted as an esteemed guest by a prosperous foreign state such as Singapore, with the ministers and citizens fawning over him.

This all adds up to Kim's carefully crafted image as a highly respected and influential international statesman.

Using S'pore to pave the way to an alternative future for North Korea

But a more probable reason is that Kim hopes to use the Singapore model as a guideline for North Korea's own economic development.

He previously announced the country's focus on "building a socialist economy" after he promised to halt nuclear tests, and said that he hopes to learn from Singapore.

Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korean expert at Dongguk University in Seoul told NYT that the video sends a message that "he is an honest leader willing to learn from the outside world".

He also said that the video might be Kim's way of preparing his people for their country's nuclear disarmament by showing them an alternative future they can look forward to.

So, while the four-minute trailer might be the White House's vision of a prosperous and nuclear-free North Korea, this 42-minute documentary is North Korea's own version of the future it wants to carve out for itself.

And Singapore has come in handy for that purpose.

Here are some related articles which might interest you:

All images via Korean Central Television