Kim Jong-Un looks slimmer than ever, again fanning rumours of health issues| See pic

North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-Un is looking slimmer than ever in recent photos taken during a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party. According to Sputnik, Kim appeared noticeably thinner in images released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The latest pictures show a dramatic weight loss of the North Korean leader, with some claiming that he barely looks like the person who came to power in 2012 following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il. 

According to reports, Kim Jong-Un weighed 139 kilograms last year, but with healthier habits, which allegedly involved diet and refusal of alcohol, the North Korean supreme leader managed to lose 20 kilograms in 2021. The South Korean media outlet, separately, reported that Kim shed weight because of his gastric band. Other media outlets, on the other hand, contended that weight loss is the result of a disease. 

However, KCNA and North Korean government officials have said that Kim Jong-Un’s apparent weight loss is symptomatic of his desire to “eat less to help the country”. It is to mention that back in October, Kim had told his citizens that they must expect to eat less food until the country re-opens its border with China in 2025. In August, he had also banned citizens from discussing the food shortages, labelling gossip as a “reactionary act”. 

Rumours around Kim Jong Un’s health 

Meanwhile, rumours that Kim’s weight loss could be a result of an illness were sparked last year. But it was reignited again after the North Korean leader made his first public appearance in over a month - the longest absence in seven years from public glare. During this time period, there was also speculation about Kim Jong-Un’s health, with some claiming he died after surgery went wrong. 

According to The Guardian, Kim is a heavy smoker and has struggled with health conditions that observers have linked to his weight and lifestyle. Back in 2014, he disappeared for almost six weeks before reappearing with a walking stick. Days later, the South Korean spy agency claimed he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle. A three-week absence last year also sparked rumours that he had fallen seriously ill after undergoing heart surgery - though a more plausible theory was that he had just been isolating amid the coronavirus pandemic.

(Image: AP)