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29th June 2021
12:59pm BST

"Everyone just started to cry."
There has been plenty of speculation in recent weeks about Jong-un's weight. Footage and images from Workers Party meetings this month appeared to show that he was losing weight, and analysis by NK News showed that his watch strap was fastened tighter than it had been at earlier events, suggesting that he was losing weight. https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1409282895777132545 However it would seem that the weight loss is very much of Jong-un's own doing, and the North Korean despot seems to be going on something of a health kick. One Korea Center is a website specialising in North Korean affairs. The head of the site, Lwak Gil Seob, told the BBC how the footage must have been aired to show that "Kim Jong-un is losing weight by himself" because the regime there "would never allow negative news around Kim Jong-un to be published." Jong-un has never been the picture of health to be fair, and maybe he's realised that he may need to shed some pounds if he wants to make sure his reign continues for a while yet. He is thought to be a heavy smoker and drinker, and is apparently just 37. He has disappeared from the public eye for long periods before, with the South Korean government stating that these disappearances have been as he recovers from medical procedures. The most recent of these disappearances was in 2020, when he went 20 days without being seen in public, leading to speculation that he had undergone heart surgery or even died.Explore more on these topics: