north korean leader Kim Jong Un Speculation about his health has begun again after pictures of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin were published.
“I don’t know what the severity of her health is, but, looking at the TV screen, it doesn’t look like (she’s) a healthy person,” Professor Sung-Eun Lee, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., and author of “The Sister: North Korea’s Kim Yo Jong, the Most Dangerous Woman in the World,” told Fox News Digital. “But, you know, it’s been like this for about 10 years.”
Former CIA North Korea analyst Sue Mi Terry sparked speculation when she said Kim “doesn’t look good to me,” based on footage of his meeting with Putin in Pyongyang.
“There was a point when he lost a little bit of weight, and he started looking better, so my first reaction was that he didn’t look healthy, because his health is something we always keep an eye on,” Terry said. According to The Hill,
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un attend a welcoming ceremony in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 19, 2024. (Contributor/Getty Images)
Lee agreed with Terry’s assessment, describing the portion of the meeting when Kim first arrived at the meeting in his limousine and “walked no more than 30 yards” before getting on the escalator. With that slight exertion, “you could see Kim Jong Un panting and gasping, and you could hear it clearly: (He) was still breathing like that after walking 25, 30 yards, and when the two of them sat down, he was still short of breath,” Lee said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after a signing ceremony following bilateral talks at the Kumsusan State Residence in Pyongyang, North Korea, June 19, 2024. (Kristina Kormilitsyna/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
However, Lee cautioned that Kim has appeared unwell for a long time, and has looked “obese” for most of his tenure as supreme leader of the reclusive state and would likely remain unwell even if he appears incredibly unwell again. After your weight loss in 2021, He can still live well thanks to the health care available.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (right) attends a submarine-launched cruise missile test with military officials at an undisclosed location in North Korea in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency on January 28, 2024. (KCNA via Reuters)
“Kim is very rich: he owns the whole kingdom – it’s his territory in the medieval style, the autocratic monarch … He has the best medical team, first-class, although the healthcare system is dilapidated throughout the country,” Lee explained. “It’s a joke, but he has good doctors working for him, and their purpose is to make sure that Kim doesn’t faint the next day.”
Lee said that Kim’s father and grandfather, Kim Jong Il and Kim Sung Il, respectively, died of a heart attackAnd he spoke at length about Kim’s many bad habits, such as excessive drinking and smoking.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (center) waves from a balcony to gathered troops and spectators during celebrations of the nation’s 73rd anniversary at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
A 2016 report Guardian The report said Kim’s weight has increased by 90 pounds in the four years since he took power following his father’s death, as he binge-eated and drank heavily to deal with his “fear of being assassinated.” The report cited South Korea’s intelligence service, which claimed Kim weighed 286 pounds at the time.
“Kim also suffered from gout in October 2014,” Lee revealed. “He was not seen in public from mid-September to mid-October and then appeared with a cane.”
Kim’s health will also be of great importance to Putin, who is increasingly reliant on his allies’ weapons as the war in Ukraine weakens both sides. Reports suggest that North Korea has sent more than 5 million artillery pieces to Russia, based on the size of containers sent last week.
“Kim knows he has some influence with Putin now and it’s appropriate for Putin to make this pilgrimage, this unusual visit to North Korea,” Lee argued. “(It) says a lot about how both sides are involved together in rewriting international law, international norms, violating sanctions — while brazenly denying any military complicity.”
“The two men are signaling to Washington and other allies, no matter how hard you try to derail our partnership: We stand strong together,” Lee concluded.
