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Pictures provided by the North Korean government show North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Workers’ Party meetings on February 8 (left) and June 15. KCNA/Korean News Service, File/AP Hide caption
toggle caption Korea Central News Agency/Korea News Service, File/Associated Press
Pictures provided by the North Korean government show North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at Workers’ Party meetings on February 8 (left) and June 15.
Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service, File/AP
State media quoted a local resident as saying, in a rare admission to foreign speculation about his weight loss, that sad North Koreans are tearfully worried by leader Kim Jong Un’s “poor looks.”
Some experts said the remarks were an attempt to bolster domestic support for Kim’s efforts while battling mounting economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, mismanagement, United Nations economic sanctions and natural disasters.
“The hearts of our people felt great pain when we saw (Kim)’s emaciated appearance,” North Korean state television quoted an unidentified man in a straw hat as saying on Friday. “Everyone says their tears naturally fall into their eyes.”
In recent state media photos, Kim appears to have lost a significant amount of weight. Some North Korea watchers said Kim, who is about 170 centimeters (5 feet 8 inches) tall and previously weighed 140 kilograms (308 pounds), may have lost 10-20 kilograms (22-44 pounds).
Kim’s health is the focus of intense outside attention, with the 37-year-old leader not publicly appointing a successor who would take charge of North Korea’s advanced nuclear arsenal targeting the United States and its allies if incapacitated.
Some analysts in Seoul said it was possible that Kim had been dieting to improve his health, while others speculated that the weight loss might be linked to health problems.
Kim, who is known for his excessive drinking and smoking, comes from a family with a history of heart problems. His father and grandfather, who ruled North Korea before him, died of heart problems.
In recent months, Kim has called for stronger unity to overcome what he called “the worst crisis ever” caused by the pandemic-related border closures that have sharply reduced North Korea’s international trade, ongoing US-led sanctions, and summer storms that have killed crops in the past. Year.
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