South Korean Officials Fear North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un May Die From Obesity-Related Health Problems

South Korean officials revealed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un regained weight and appears to be experiencing obesity-related health problems like high blood pressure and diabetes.

South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on July 29 that Kim’s doctors are seeking new medicines abroad to treat him. The North Korean dictator comes from a family with a history of heart problems. His father and grandfather both died of heart issues.

Some observers stated that Kim, who is about 5 feet, 7 inches tall and previously weighed 308 pounds, appeared to have lost a massive amount of weight back in 2021, likely due to changing his diet. However, recent videos run by the state’s controlled media show that he has regained the weight.

On Monday, the National Intelligence Service (NIS), South Korea’s leading spy agency, told lawmakers during a closed-door briefing that the dictator is estimated to weigh nearly 308 pounds again and is in a high-risk group for heart disease, according to Lee Seong Kweun, one of the lawmakers.

Lee stated that the NIS told lawmakers Kim had shown symptoms of high blood pressure and diabetes since his early 30s. 

Another lawmaker, Park Sunwon, stated that the NIS believes Kim’s obesity is connected to his drinking, smoking and stress.

Lee and Park quoted the NIS as saying it acquired intelligence that North Korean officials were trying to get new medications abroad for Kim’s presumed high blood pressure and diabetes.

North Korea is one of the most secretive countries in the world, and there is no way for outsiders to know the dictator’s exact health conditions. 

The NIS has a spotty record verifying developments in North Korea.

Kim’s health became the focus of keen attention outside North Korea since he has not officially chosen a successor who would lead the country’s advancing nuclear arsenal targeting the U.S. and its allies if he was incapacitated.

In its Monday briefing, the NIS noted that Kim’s daughter, Kim Ju Ae, who is about 10 or 11 years old, is her father’s heir apparent. 

Despite this, the NIS stated that it cannot rule out the possibility that she could be replaced by one of her siblings since she has yet to be formally designated as her father’s successor.

She is thought to have two other siblings, at least one of them a boy, but the Kim regime has not publicly displayed them.

Speculation about Ju Ae flared when she started accompanying her father at high-profile public events in late 2022. 

State media labeled her as Kim’s “most beloved” or “respected” child and churned out footage and photos proving her increasing political standing and closeness with her father.

The NIS told lawmakers that a minimum of 60% of the girl’s public activities involved attending military events with the dictator.

Kim has been a controversial figure on the world stage.

Fred and Cindy Warmbier, the parents of Otto Warmbier, the 22-year-old American who was imprisoned in North Korea for 17 months before dying while in custody, spoke out against Kim in a statement made in March 2019.

They stated that “Kim and his evil regime are responsible for the death of” their son and “for unimaginable cruelty and inhumanity,” adding that “no excuses or lavish praise can change that.”

In December 2019, Kim promised to give America a “Christmas gift” if ongoing talks with the U.S. did not improve. 

Some North Korea experts speculated that he was hinting at the continuation of long-distance missile tests as North Korea’s self-imposed year-end deadline was, at the time, soon to expire.