Why, create an avatar of said despot and pretend all is peachy!
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is apparently alive, and apparently incapacitated. Various factions in the government are maneuvering to grab power. The Chinese are involved, backing at least one faction. Chinese and South Korean businessmen who still get into North Korea indicate that there are lot of nervous and scared people up north at the moment. The North Korean government has released photos of Kim Jong Il out and about. But some of these photos are obvious fakes, and none of them is conclusive "proof of life".
Is the long collapse of North Korea getting close to actually happening? And if so, will it be regime collapse or state collapse?