North Korean state television recently aired an interview with a citizen expressing concern about a Kim Jong-un thinner-looking, fueling speculations that the leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has significantly lost weight.
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“People were heartbroken to see the respected secretary general look thinner,” the man said in an interview with Korean Central Television on Friday, and reported by the agency. Yonhap. “Everyone says they are moved to tears,” added the resident.
A news bulletin previously claimed that Kim appeared to have lost a “significant amount of weight” based on how tight her wrist strap was.
In the video, Pyongyang residents are filmed watching a large screen set up on the street with images of a concert attended by Kim and top-level officials after a plenary meeting of the Workers’ Party. Analysts believe Pyongyang is using Kim’s appearance to portray him as a “dedicated and hardworking” leader as the country struggles to tackle its severe food crisis and numerous other challenges.
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North Korea closed its borders in January 2020 to protect itself from the pandemic, cutting down trade with China, which remains its historic ally and partner, while all international aid workers have left the country. Speculations about Kim’s health erupted last year after the leader skipped the commemoration of the April 15 birthday of grandfather Kim Il-sung, the founder of the state, by absent from public life for about 20 days.
His father, Kim Jong-il and grandfather Kim Il-sung, were also obese, smokers and alcohol lovers: both died of heart attacks due to chronic illnesses and extremely disordered lives. In 2016, South Korean intelligence reported that Kim had gained weight to at least 130 kilograms, with about 40 kilos accumulated since taking power in late 2011.
In 2020, however, the estimates spoke of another 10 kilos gained, bringing the total to 140. When he reappeared in the state media in early June after an absence of nearly a month, analysts of NK News, a Seoul-based website that monitors events in the North, noticed that her watch strap seemed to be tighter around her wrist, due to weight loss.
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