North Korea
From 140 down to 120 kilograms: Kim Jong Un has slimmed down a lot
20 kilos less, but still a lot on the ribs: Kim Jong Un (right), here in mid-October at an armaments fair in Pyongyang.
© KCNA / AFP
The South Korean secret service has unpacked its latest findings about the mysterious north: ruler Kim Jong Un is said to have lost 20 kilos and is in the process of establishing a new political doctrine: “Kimjongunism”.
North Korea’s dictator Kim Jong Un is 37 years old, 1.70 meters tall and weighs around 120 kilograms. A proud weight. Allegedly there should be a PR reason for this. Observers believe that the ruler, when he was not yet firmly in the saddle, wanted to resemble his still revered grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung. The same was and still applies to the hairstyle. Meanwhile, however, Kim number three has been at the helm of the isolated country for ten years and, if one believes the South Korean secret service, wants to develop his own teaching.
Kim Jong Un last weighed 140 kilograms
With the help of artificial intelligence and high-resolution videos, the scouts in the south observed the powerful man of the north and came to the conclusion that he had recently lost 20 kilograms. After that, until some time ago, he must have weighed 140 kilos. Despite the drastic weight loss, he was in good health, the secret service announced at a hearing in front of the parliament in Seoul. As early as the summer, there were rumors about Kim’s noticeable change.
“Kim’s condition has recently been the focus of foreign attention. Having become noticeably thinner and without a publicly known successor, his inability to work could plunge the impoverished nuclear-armed state into chaos,” writes the AP news agency. The dictator may be in full bloom, but his country is not, on the contrary. Just recently, at a meeting of the ruling party, Kim was forced to concede drastic crop failures. North Korea faces another famine.
Too many mountains and bad weather
For decades, the state’s agriculture has not been able to produce enough food for the approximately 23 million inhabitants. In addition to blatant mismanagement, this is also due to the geographical location: North Korea is mountainous, the summers are too hot and the rainy season too wet for sufficient harvests. Meanwhile, climate change is worsening the situation. Typhoons, droughts and floods have completely put an end to the already starving agriculture in the past few months.
In addition, the spies reported to the South Korean MPs that Kim allegedly had the pictures of his father and grandfather removed from a conference room of the Labor Party. The portraits of the founder of the state and his son hang in every North Korean household and in all public buildings and must not be removed. Perhaps the decision has to do with the fact that Kim is about to spread his own ideology over the country: “Kimjongunism”. Both of his ancestors had founded political doctrines and named them after themselves.
According to speculation, the poor supply and economic situation as well as the corona pandemic are also one of the reasons why Kim was recently seen more often in public again. It occurred on 70 days this year, around 45 percent more frequently than until October last year, according to AP. The North Korea portal “NK News” also reports that Kim repeatedly treats himself to “extended breaks”. Even if nothing is officially known about his whereabouts, there have been “activities” in the past few days at the Kims’ private beach property on the east coast of the country, according to “NK News”. These are indications that he or parts of his family are on board his multi-million dollar yacht.
Sources:AP, “NK News“, NBC News