North korea
From Dik to thin: Kim Jong Un presents himself as a clearly slimmed-down crisis manager
Kim Jong Un presented himself clearly slimmed down in front of the top cadres of the North Korean Workers’ Party.
© KCNA / DPA
The supply situation in North Korea is poor, so ruler Kim Jong Un presents plans to reform agriculture. However, this message is pushed into the background by a significantly changed look of the dictator.
Kim Jong Un has ruled North Korea for almost exactly ten years. After the death of his father Kim Jong Il in December 2011, he took over the family scepter. But only a few observers believed that the then-30-year-old Kim scion would be able to stay in power for a long time. It turned out differently. Also thanks to very brutal purges at the top of the state and the promise of reforms. The spectacular climax were cautious summer flirtations with the archenemy: the nuclear summit with the then US President Donald Trump.
Kim began to look like his grandfather
Unlike his father, Kim the Third likes to mingle with the people. Which means above all in the world of the sealed off dictatorship: The Führer inspects his country and gives publicly effective instructions. Although he was never really slim himself, the young ruler continued to gain weight quickly and looked more and more like his grandfather Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s first dictator. He even took over his hairstyle and Mao suit from his grandfather. The calculation behind it: Although dead for almost 30 years and different from his father, the founder of the state still enjoys great popularity among the people. So the grandson borrowed a few tokens of popularity from him.
But at least the fullness of the body is increasingly taking care of itself. When Kim Jong Un presented the plans for “rural development”, suddenly a much slimmer Kim was sitting in front of the country’s power elite. His obvious diet had already been noticed in the summer. One can only speculate about the reasons for his weight loss diet, but recently rumors of serious health problems have been making the rounds. When he disappeared from the public eye a few years ago and reappeared after weeks with crutches, it was said that his excess weight should have caused problems in his ankles.
Perhaps the thin dictator is just “reinventing” himself at the moment, or he has to pay more attention to fitness in view of the many crises in the country. In addition to the still unsolved dispute over the nuclear program, North Korea is again struggling with the permanent problem of food supply. The already rather rare areas for agricultural use were further decimated in summer by storms. Then there are the consequences of the sanctions by the West and of course: Corona.
At the most recent plenary meeting of the ruling Labor Party, the tense supply situation was discussed and it was decided to develop medium and long-term strategies for rural areas. Kim has taken “important revolutionary measures”, according to the state media. Dealing with the subject makes it clear how urgent the subject is for the communist leadership of the country. In June, at a meeting of the Central Committee, Kim had prepared the population for a poorer supply of food.
Sources:Foreign Policy, DPA, KNCA.