Is Kim Jong Un sick? ‘Oof, he doesn’t look too great,’ says former CIA analyst
- North Korean viewers are poring over a new series of images of Kim Jong-un
- It appears he has arrived as he is pictured hosting Vladimir Putin
- READ MORE: Putin and Kim disagree over who should get into their limousine first
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un revived a Cold War mutual defense pledge on Wednesday.
But that wasn’t the only thing North Korean onlookers noticed during Putin’s visit to the hermit kingdom.
Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst, said Kim looked ill.
“My first reaction when I looked at Kim Jong Un was, ‘Phew, he doesn’t look that great,’” she told CNN.
‘There was a time when he lost some weight and looked better. So my first reaction was that he didn’t look healthy, because his health is always monitored.’
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un received Russian President Vladimir Putin in his capital Pyongyang on Tuesday and Wednesday, where they agreed on a defense pact
The state of Kim’s weight isn’t just the domain of gossip.
An entire industry has sprung up around monitoring the ups and downs of his waistline.
Without a publicly named successor, intelligence chiefs fear his sudden elimination could plunge the poverty-stricken, nuclear-armed country into chaos.
Collins explained that the lack of reliable information from North Korea meant that analysts were studying images of Kim to get an idea of how he was doing.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service is closely monitoring the situation.
Three years ago it said Kim had lost 44 pounds. His weight was estimated to have dropped from about 308 pounds to about 264 pounds, according to lawmakers briefed on the findings.
Putin’s overnight visit offers a chance to study a series of new images of the North Korean leader looking bloated and red-faced.
Every year questions about his health arise.
Last year he disappeared from public view for over a month, prompting speculation that he was ill.
Analyst Sue Mi Terry said Kim appeared to have put on weight and looked unhealthy
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service used images of Kim in 2021 to estimate that the North Korean leader lost 44 pounds
Some of the most serious concerns emerged in 2020, as the coronavirus pandemic enveloped the world.
A website for North Korean defectors stated that he had been suffering from heart problems for months.
CNN reported that Washington was monitoring information that Kim was in “grave danger.”
An unconfirmed report followed in the Japanese media that he was in a ‘vegetative state’ after surgery to relieve pressure in a blocked blood vessel.
Then President Donald Trump later intervened and said the rumors were “incorrect.”