North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has put on weight again and appears to be suffering from obesity-related health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes. His associates are looking abroad for new drugs to treat them, South Korea's spy agency told politicians on Monday.
Kim, who is 40 years old, drinks and smokes a lot, and his family has a history of heart problems. Both his father and grandfather, who ruled North Korea before he succeeded in 2011, died of heart problems.
People who follow the occasion said that Kim, who is about 170 centimeters tall and previously weighed 140 kilograms, appears to have lost a lot of weight in 2021, possibly due to a change in diet. But recent state media footage shows him gaining weight again.
South Korea's main spy agency, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), told lawmakers behind closed doors that Kim was estimated to be back at around 140 kilograms, putting him in a high-risk group for heart disease, said Lee Siong Kweun, one of deputies.
Li said the NIS informed them that Kim had symptoms of high blood pressure and diabetes since his early 30s. Another lawmaker, Park Sunwon, said the NIS believes Kim's obesity has something to do with him drinking, smoking and being under stress.
Lee and Park quoted the NIS as saying it had received intelligence that North Korean officials were trying to obtain new drugs abroad for Kim's high blood pressure and diabetes. North Korea is one of the most secretive countries in the world and there is virtually no way for outsiders to know the exact state of Kim's health.
Kim's health has been the focus of much attention outside North Korea since he has not officially named a successor to take control of the country's nuclear arsenal that would target the United States and its allies if he is unfit to serve.
In Monday's briefing, the NIS also stood by its assessment that Kim's pre-teen daughter, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae, is likely to strengthen her father's status as heir apparent. However, the NIS said that it could not rule out the possibility that she would be replaced by one of her siblings because she had not been officially designated as her father's successor.
Speculations about Kim Ju Ae, who is around 10 years old, flared up as she accompanied her father to important events from the end of 2022. State media called her the "favorite" or Kim Jong Un's favorite child, and videos and photos have been released that prove her growing political position and closeness with her father.
The NIS told parliamentarians that at least 60 percent of Kim Ju Ae's public activities involved attending military events with her father.
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