--- description: Chinese Internet users searching the once banned term "third-generation pig" are seeing its result in entries on the North Korean dictator title: China Unblocks Searches Referring to Kim Jong Un as a 'Pig' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd634dd6871c96115/69888aa0cd1bba5c266ffcb9/rts9zsa.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # China Has Unblocked Internet Searches That Refer to Kim Jong Un as a 'Pig' by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 11, 2016 9:02 AM CUT  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets scientists and technicians in the field of research into nuclear weapons in this undated photo released by the country's Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang on March 9, 2016 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets scientists and technicians in the field of research into nuclear weapons in this undated photo released by the country's Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang on March 9, 2016KCNA/Reuters by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 11, 2016 9:02 AM CUT China appears to have made an [exception](http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/03/116%5F200159.html "undefined") within its extremely restricted Internet this week, for an unusual search term — a reference to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as a “third-generation pig.” China’s online filters originally blocked the derogatory moniker commonly used by Chinese netizens for Kim, but requests for it on the country’s largest search engine Baidu were producing results as of Wednesday, the _Korea Times_ said, citing a report by South Korean news agency Yonhap. Although the two East Asian nations have long been allies, China this week [joined](http://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-nuclear-sanctions-idUSKCN0WA14U "undefined") stricter U.N. sanctions on North Korea following the latter’s alleged nuclear-missile [tests](http://time.com/4255081/north-korea-kim-jong-un-nuclear-tests/ "undefined"). According to the _Korea Times_, experts say the unblocking of the insult to Kim may be a sign of China’s displeasure over his country’s weapons program. \[[_Korea Times_](http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/03/116%5F200159.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4255248/china-north-korea-relations-kim-jong-un-pig/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4255248/china-north-korea-relations-kim-jong-un-pig/"},"headline":"China Has Unblocked Internet Searches That Refer to Kim Jong Un as a 'Pig'","datePublished":"2016-03-11T09:02:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:49:30.551Z","description":"Experts say it may be a sign of China's displeasure with Kim's nuclear buildup","url":"https://time.com/4255248/china-north-korea-relations-kim-jong-un-pig/","keywords":["North Korea","Nuclear","Internet","China","Kim Jong Un","U.N.","Sanctions","Search","missile"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd634dd6871c96115/69888aa0cd1bba5c266ffcb9/rts9zsa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd634dd6871c96115/69888aa0cd1bba5c266ffcb9/rts9zsa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets scientists and technicians in the field of researches into nuclear weapons","caption":"North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets scientists and technicians in the field of researches into nuclear weapons","creditText":"KCNA/Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4255248/china-north-korea-relations-kim-jong-un-pig/","name":"China Has Unblocked Internet Searches That Refer to Kim Jong Un as a 'Pig'"}}]}] ```