The North Korean dictator has appeared in public thinner, giving rise to new speculations about his health conditions. Foreign experts have relied on the analysis of his wristwatch, tied more tightly. The regime has not made any comments.
Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - North Koreans "are heartbroken" by the apparent weight loss of their leader Kim Jong-un. Over the weekend a Pyongyang resident told the regime's state television Korean Central Television, “seeing the Secretary General emaciated breaks the hearts of our people.” However, authorities have not provided details on what may have caused the leader's sudden weight loss.
Foreign analysts had already noticed Kim's weight loss. Experts from Seoul-based website NK News, which monitors North Korea, noted that the dictator's watch appeared to be strapped closer to the wrist during a Workers' Party meeting in early June. The South Korean Unification Minister said that the health of the strong man in Pyongyang is being monitored closely, without commenting on the dictator's recent weight loss.
When Kim skipped the April 15 celebrations of the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il-sung, the founder of the regime, last year to reappear in public in early May, speculations about his health began. Also in 2014, state media reported that Kim suffered from unspecified "malaise" after a prolonged period out of the public eye.