North Koreans are worried about ‘emaciated’ leader Kim Jong-un, state media reports
- The rare public comment on Kim’s health comes after foreign analysts noted that Kim appeared to have lost a noticeable amount of weight
- Given Kim’s tight grip on power in North Korea international media, spy agencies and specialists closely watch his health
The rare public comment on Kim’s health comes after foreign analysts noted in early June that the autocratic leader, who is believed to be 37, appeared to have lost a noticeable amount of weight.
“Seeing respected general secretary [Kim Jong-un] looking emaciated breaks our people’s heart so much,” the man said in an interview aired by state broadcaster KRT on Friday. “Everyone is saying that their tears welled up.”
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In the clip, which Reuters could not independently verify, Pyongyang residents were seen watching a big screen on the street showing a concert attended by Kim and party officials after a plenary meeting of their Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK).
The broadcast did not provide any details on what had led to the weight loss.
When Kim reappeared in state media in June after not being seen in public for almost a month, analysts at NK News, a Seoul-based website that monitors North Korea, noted that his watch appeared to be fastened more tightly than before around an apparently slimmer wrist.
Given Kim’s tight grip on power in North Korea – and the uncertainty over any plans for a successor – international media, spy agencies and specialists closely watch his health.
Early last year speculation about Kim’s health exploded after he missed the birth anniversary celebrations of state founder Kim Il-sung on April 15, only to reappear in public in early May.
In 2014, state media reported that Kim was suffering from “discomfort”, after a prolonged period out of the public eye.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un describes nation’s food situation as ‘tense’
On June 17, Kim admitted during a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party that his country was facing food shortages due to last year’s typhoon and floods.
The rare admission came as Pyongyang watchers also believe the country is facing a quite serious food shortage, and they see Kim’s failed major policies as the culprits for the ongoing crisis, along with the triple whammy of last fall’s typhoons, Covid-19 and international sanctions.
“By most indications, there appear to be food shortages in the range of 1.35 million to 1.5 million tons ―the worst food crisis since the Great Famine of the 1990s,” said Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. The 1994 to 1998 food crisis is estimated to have caused millions of deaths.
“But it would be a mistake to just view it as a food shortage. It is not just the result of typhoons and floods, but also due to major policy failures and corruption.”
Kim says Covid-19, typhoons made North Korea’s food situation ‘tense’
Some analysts view the North Korean leader’s acknowledgment as Pyongyang signalling its need for outside help before the shortage turns to a mass famine, raising speculation that the South Korean and US governments may undertake humanitarian relief efforts.
But the issue of transparency surrounding the distribution of such aid may hold it back.
“Kim would only want food aid that likely comes with no monitoring agents or outside representatives that would want to come into the country and check on who is receiving the aid,” said Harry Kazianis, the senior director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest.
“He would likely offer the excuse of the pandemic as a reason no outside monitors can come in to watch any food distribution, a concession the international community should not grant, as any aid could be sent with vaccinated observers.”
