Seoul, South Korea North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has regained weight and appears to be suffering from obesity-related health problems, including high blood pressure and diabetes, and his associates are searching overseas for new drugs to treat them, South Korea’s intelligence agency told lawmakers on Monday. Kim, 40, a known heavy drinker and smoker, comes from a family with a history of heart disease.
Kim’s father and grandfather north korea He died of heart problems in 2011 before assuming power.
Kim Jong Un, who stands about 5 feet 7 inches tall and once weighed 308 pounds, appears to have lost a lot of weight in 2021, possibly due to a change in his eating habits, some observers have said. But recent videos circulated by North Korean state media appear to show Kim regaining the weight.
Korea Central News Agency/Reuters
South Korea’s main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, told lawmakers at a closed-door press conference on Monday that Kim’s weight is again estimated at about 308 pounds, putting him in a high-risk group for heart disease, said Lee Seong-gyeong, a lawmaker.
Lee said the NIS had told lawmakers that Kim had been showing symptoms of high blood pressure and diabetes since his early 30s. Another lawmaker, Park Sun-won, said the NIS believed Kim’s obesity was linked to drinking, smoking and stress.
Citing the National Intelligence Service, Ri and Park said they had received intelligence that North Korean authorities were trying to obtain new medication from overseas for Kim Jong Un’s suspected high blood pressure and diabetes.
North Korea is one of the most secretive countries in the world, making it virtually impossible for outsiders to know exactly what Kim Jong Un’s health is, and the National Intelligence Service has a spotty track record when it comes to checking the situation in North Korea.
Korea Central News Agency/Reuters
Kim Jong Un has not formally named a successor to oversee the expansion of the country’s nuclear arsenal, which can target the United States and its allies, if he is incapacitated, so his health is attracting intense attention outside North Korea.
The National Intelligence Service said in a briefing on Monday that Kim Jong Un’s early teenage daughter Kim Joo-aeThe report strengthens her position as a likely candidate to succeed her father, but the NIS said it could not rule out the possibility that one of her brothers could take her place as she has not been formally named as his successor.
Kim Joo Ae, believed to be 10 or 11 years old, has sparked speculation after accompanying her father to several high-profile public events starting in the second half of 2022.
State media has called him Kim Jong Un’s “most beloved” and “most respected” child, and released a trove of videos and photos demonstrating his political rise and closeness to his father. Kim Jong Un has two siblings, at least one of whom is thought to be a boy, but the regime has not publicly identified them.
The National Intelligence Service has warned lawmakers that at least 60% of Kim Joo-ae’s public activities Participating in military events With her father.
