North Koreans broke down in tears over seeing a dramatically thinner Kim Jong-un, state TV cited a citizen as saying, allowing rare comments on the leader’s health that could also help build support as he seeks to revive a sickly economy.
People “were most heartbroken when they saw the emaciated figure of the respected comrade general,” a Pyongyang citizen told Korean Central Television in comments broadcast on Friday.
“Everyone says that tears came out naturally,” said the man, whose name was not given.
Photo: AP
Kim, 37, returned to the public eye this month, cutting a much thinner figure after being absent for most of last month. During one appearance this month, he issued a rare warning that the “food situation is now getting tense.”
The warning comes at a time of the year when food stocks typically run low and the bulk of this year’s harvest has not yet been brought in.
By allowing comment on Kim’s weight, North Korea’s propaganda apparatus addressed a subject obvious to anyone watching the leader. It also supported a familiar theme in the myth-making of regime leaders, who are often portrayed as being so people-focused that they risk their own well-being.
In recent state media photos, Kim has appeared to have lost a considerable amount of weight. Some North Korea watchers said Kim, who is about 170cm tall and has previously weighed 140kg, might have lost 10kg to 20kg.
“It is hard to say what caused Kim’s weight loss, or what his health conditions are, but right now they are using it for propaganda purposes, specifically to highlight his hard work and sacrifice to improve the people’s living standards,” said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a nonresident fellow with the 38 North Program at the Stimson Center.
The propaganda line has endured, despite the ruling Kim family acquiring a massive fortune, palatial residences, a world-leading cognac collection and a luxury armored train used for rare trips abroad.
One of the clues that Kim lost weight came from his June 4 appearance where his US$12,000 Swiss timepiece appeared to have been fastened tighter around his wrist, an analysis by NK News said.
Kim might need the political help. North Korea’s economy is on track to barely grow this year — after its worst contraction in decades last year — as the country struggles with the pandemic, border restrictions with China and international sanctions to punish it for its nuclear-weapons testing, Fitch Solutions said in April.
One of the major messages Kim delivered at ruling party meetings this month was the need to improve the economy.
North Korea’s perennial food shortages were made worse by typhoons last year that wiped out crops and Kim’s decision to shut borders due to COVID-19, slamming the brakes on what little legal trade it has.
North Korea’s biggest newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, tried to rally members and citizens around Kim.
In an editorial yesterday, it called on members to embody Kim’s “people-first politics,” so they can “bring about a continuous upsurge in socialist construction.”
In a separate article, it called on farmers to fulfill their patriotic duties to the party by increasing production.
The interview in which the health concern was mentioned was part of an eight-minute segment on state TV that included interviews with about 20 locals on how they felt about a musical concert featuring new propaganda songs praising Kim and the ruling party.
Additional reporting by AP
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
‘MISGUIDED EDICT’: Two US representatives warned that Somalia’s passport move could result in severe retaliatory consequences and urged it to reverse its decision Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has ordered that a special project be launched to counter China’s “legal warfare” distorting UN Resolution 2758, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday cited UN Resolution 2758 and Mogadishu’s compliance with the “one China” principle as it banned people from entering or transiting in the African nation using Taiwanese passports or other Taiwanese travel documents. The International Air Transport Association’s system shows that Taiwanese passport holders cannot enter Somalia or transit there. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) protested the move and warned Taiwanese against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland
Four former Hong Kong opposition lawmakers jailed in the territory’s largest national security case were released yesterday after more than four years in prison, the first among dozens convicted last year to regain their freedom. Former legislators Claudia Mo (毛孟靜), Jeremy Tam (譚文豪), Kwok Ka-ki (郭家麒) and Gary Fan (范國威) were part of a group of 47 public figures — including some of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy advocates — who were charged with subversion in 2021 for holding an informal primary election. The case fell under a National Security Law imposed on the territory by Beijng, and drew international condemnation and warnings
RSS