Seoul, South Korea – North Korea On Thursday he held a parade showing military dogs and virus workers in orange suits, but leader Kim Jong Un still managed to grab the spotlight by looking thinner and more energetic than years ago. During last Wednesday’s event, Kim, wearing a cream-colored dress and a bright white tie, emerged when the clock struck midnight. He issued in response to thunderous applause from performers and spectators filling Pyongyang’s illuminated Kim Il Sung Square, named after his grandfather, the country’s founder.
He smiled broadly, greeted the crowd and kissed the children who gave him flowers before taking his place on a balcony to watch the parade. He laughed vigorously and applauded the protesters throughout the event, while holding lively talks with senior officials.
It was a radical change from 2018, when TV footage showed him struggling to catch his breath as he accompanied South Korean President Moon Jae-in on a short walk to North Korea’s Mount Paektu for a period of diplomatic engagement. Moon, who is three decades older than Kim, didn’t look at all stunned by the ride.
KCNA / Reuters
“His face is clearly thinner and he moves much harder,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul.
Kim’s weight loss he was noticed in June, when he made his first public appearance in weeks to convene a ruling party meeting. Some North Korean observers then said Kim, who is about 5 feet 8 inches tall and previously weighed 308 pounds, may have lost 22 to 44 pounds.
Most experts say Kim’s weight loss is more likely a result of efforts to improve her fitness than an indicator of health problems, given her regular public activity. It can also have a political purpose.
Kim faces perhaps her most difficult time as she approaches a decade of rule, with North Korea battling U.S.-led economic sanctions for its nuclear weapons, pandemic border closures that cause more strain on its economy breakage and food shortages worsened by floods in recent summers.
It has become crucial for Kim to create an image as a young and vigorous leader who can navigate the country out of trouble, analyst Park said. These imagery efforts would align with the latest parade, which featured civil defense units involved in efforts to rebuild the economy and communities destroyed by the floods and emphasized an internal message for the unit.
KCNA / Reuters
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korea Studies in Seoul, said Kim, with her weight loss and cheerful demeanor at the parade, is probably trying to project an image of a “normal statesman. ”That interacts with the public.
“He’s also a husband and father of three who is approaching 40, so it’s not uncommon for him to worry about his health,” Yang said.
Kim’s health is the focus of great foreign attention, as the 37-year-old leader has not publicly anointed a successor who would take control of North Korea’s advanced nuclear arsenal aimed at Asian rivals and the northern homeland. American. He has been known to drink and smoke heavily and comes from a family with a history of heart problems. His father and grandfather, who ruled North Korea before him, died of heart problems.
“Given the Northern political system, where the supreme leader decides everything, Kim’s health is an extremely important safety issue,” Park said. “There were likely to be internal concerns about being overweight and it would have been important for Kim to reduce those concerns and present herself as a young, healthy leader who is capable of doing things.”
Dr. Cheong Seong-Chang, director of the Center for North Korean Studies at South Korea’s Sejong Institute, told CBS News that Kim may also have wanted with the parade “to show the world that North Korea is safe from coronavirus, as they have repeatedly said. “