Diplomats joined N. Korea's Kim on theme park ride

SEOUL (AFP) - Diplomats from several countries including Britain accompanied North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on his roller-coaster ride last week, the British embassy in the North's capital Pyongyang said on Friday.

Photographs of the young Mr Kim, smiling broadly as the amusement park ride began, were circulated by state media as part of an apparent campaign to build an image of a relaxed and informal leader.

Official media has also disclosed Mr Kim's marriage and carried photos of him arm-in-arm with his wife - a marked departure from the secrecy surrounding the private life of his father Kim Jong Il, who died last December.

The embassy confirmed that junior British diplomat Barnaby Jones joined Mr Kim on the ride at Pyongyang's Rungna amusement park, and said he was one of several diplomats to do so.