North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has lost 20kg but is still ‘healthy’

After telling residents to “eat less” amid a national food shortage crisis, it’s been revealed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has lost 20kg.

After North Korea’s authoritarian government told residents to “eat less” to combat a national food shortage, it’s been revealed Kim Jong-un has lost 20kg.

The North Korean dictator’s health has long been a point of speculation – with his noticeably thinner appearance in state media photos and videos leading many to wonder if he’s unwell.

But during a closed-door parliamentary briefing on Thursday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said the 37-year-old had no apparent health problems and his weight loss was likely the result of efforts to improve his physique.

According to several of the session’s attendees, politician Kim Byung-kee said Kim’s weight had fallen from about 140kg to 120kg.

After telling residents to “eat less” amid a national food shortage crisis, it’s been revealed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has lost 20kg. Picture: STR/KCNA via KNS/AFP

Kim’s weight has fallen from about 140kg to 120kg. Picture: STR/KCNA via KNS/AFP

Experts first expressed their surprise at the dictator’s changed appearance when he was the guest of honour at a military parade in Pyongyang last month.

“It’s striking how much healthier Kim Jong-un is looking in these photos from yesterday,” North Korea-focused journalist and researcher Martyn Williams wrote on Twitter at the time.

“However he is doing it – and there are theories – he looks a lot better than he did a few months ago.”

Hong Kong-based journalist Ryan Chan also chimed in, writing: “I have never seen Kim Jong-un in such a healthy body shape before.”

Kim’s physical transformation comes amid fears North Korea’s food shortage could last for at least the next three years.

Having long suffered from food insecurity, observers say that government mismanagement of the economy has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, natural disasters and international sanctions.

As a result, sources told Radio Free Asia that residents are being told to eat less, leading them to feel “great despair”.

“The food situation right now is already clearly an emergency, and the people are struggling with shortages. When the authorities tell them that they need to conserve and consume less food until 2025,” they said.

There are reports that the leader has signed an edict telling his starving countrymen to feast on black swan – claiming the bird’s meat fights cancer.

The Sun reports that Kim has signed an edict telling his starving countrymen to feast on black swan – claiming the bird’s meat fights cancer.

“Black swan meat is delicious and has medicinal value,” a party-run news outlet said this week, adding that the bird’s breeding on an industrial scale will actively contribute to improving people’s lives.

The propaganda says the meat has more protein and contains rare health substances such as immunoglobin, linoleic acid and compounds with “anti-cancer” properties.

A new black swan centre was recently opened at a duck farm on the nation’s east coast.

Originally published as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has lost 20kg but is still ‘healthy’