North Korea 'heartbroken' over Kim Jong-Un's 'weight-loss'; citizens weep on state-run TV

In a rare admission of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un's allegedly deteriorating health, citizens on state-run television broke down over their leader's 'emancipated looks', expressing concern over his drastic weight loss.  

Last year, speculations had coursed through international media after US media houses reported that Kim Jong-Un had caught COVID-19 from a Chinese doctor who had flown in to help with his heart valve surgery. Thereafter, reports of him being 'brain dead' after his surgery began doing the rounds with the then Trump administration looking into the 'potential line of succession' for the isolated regime.

North Koreans devastated over Kim Jong-un's dramatic weight loss

The dictator had first fueled whispers surrounding his health after he gave North Korea's annual Day of the Sun ceremony a miss and was seen absent for months-long at an end in early 2020. Although he made a comeback ensuring that all was well, international media was once again lit abuzz, now over his alleged weight loss. 

On June 25, in an interview with North Korean state TV, a citizen was shown weeping over the dictator's poor health, in what is being seen as an effort to mobilize domestic resources from citizens amid North Korea's economic hardships. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's troubles have grown owing to mismanagement of resources, crop-killing summer storms, and the UN's economic sanctions. 

“Our people’s hearts ached most when we saw (Kim’s) emaciated looks,” North Korean state TV cited the unidentified male resident wearing a straw hat as saying, according to AP. “Everyone says their tears are welling up in their eyes naturally," he added.

Recent photos do show Kim Jong-Un looking considerably slimmer. The 37-year old who is about 5 feet, 8 inches tall was previously said to weigh 140 kilograms. According to recent photos, he may have lost 10-20 kilograms over the last year. However, while North Korean citizens express their distress, analysts in Seoul have claimed that the weight loss might be due to a stricter diet regime for the leader who is known to be a heavy drinker, smoker and ails with heart problems. 

(With Agency Inputs; Image- AP)