A search for Jin Sanpang ("little fatty Kim the third") bringsup entries on Baidu, China's largest search engine./ Source from a screenshotof Baidu.

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By Hong Soon-do, Beijing correspondent, AsiaToday - It has been revealed that Chinese Internet censors have recently unblocked the search term Jin Sanpang ("little fatty Kim the third"), the Chinese mocking nickname for North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un. If they have done it on purpose, it could be seen as their gesture to use it as a means of sanctions or other kind of pressure.

According to a Beijing source well-informed in China-N. Korea relations on Wednesday, the term "Jin Sanpang" meaning "little fatty Kim the third" first appeared on a Chinese media outlet on October 14, 2012 through an article about a long public absence of Kim Jong-un's wife Ri Sol-ju. Since then, Chinese netizens had been able to search for the term on several online portals including China's largest search engine Baidu, and Sina. There even appeared parody video clips that became very popular.

However, the Chinese mocking nickname for Kim had been blocked from Chinese search engines and portal sites since October 13, 2015, right after Politburo Standing Committee member Liu Yunshan visited North Korea to attend a parade for the 70th anniversary of the founding of the nation's Worker's Party. The change most likely came from China's need to restore relations with North Korea.

At the moment, it's not clear when the unblocking was made. Considering the current situation however, it seems China took such action in order to put pressure on North Korea after the United Nations imposed new sanctions on North Korea on March 3 over its nuclear program. A search for "Jin Sanpang" resulted 22.3 million articles as of March 9. The term had been blocked, but it seems the search result has been updated.