North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has regained weight and appears to have obesity-related health problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and his officials are looking for new medicines abroad to treat them, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Monday.
The 40-year-old Kim, known for heavy drinking and smoking, comes from a family with a history of heart problems. Both his father and grandfather, who ruled North Korea before his 2011 inheritance of power, died of heart issues.
Some observers said Kim, who is about 170 centimeters (5 feet, 8 inches) tall and previously weighed 140 kilograms (308 pounds), appeared to have lost a large amount of weight in 2021, likely from changing his diet. But recent state media footage show he has regained the weight.
I’m kind of surprised by this.
You’d think he would have been popping Ozempic like candy since it came out.
I never thought sanctions and embargos were so all encompassing and effective to such a spectacularly granular degree that it literally effected the despotic leader’s creature comforts and not just their people.
As an example, despite any embargo, I’d expect Putin would be able to get any expensive Kentucky Bourbon he wants flown in via secondary channels while his people suffer.