Has Kim Jong-un lost weight? How his IWC watch strap offers telling clues about the North Korean leader’s health (and waistline)
- In November, South Korea’s spy agency estimated Kim Jong-un to weigh at least 136kg – but new pictures suggest a dramatic transformation
- The longer dangling strap of his US$12,000 Portofino Automatic watch, and apparently baggier clothes, have further fed speculation by political pundits
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have shed some pounds – following more than a decade of substantial weight gain – according to North Korea watchers and an NK News analysis of state media.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service, the country’s spy agency, reported in November that Kim weighed just over 300 pounds (136kg). When he took to power a decade earlier the agency reported that Kim weighed under 200 pounds (90kg).
Kim is believed to be about 5 foot 7 inches tall (1.7 metres), so at more than 300 pounds, the North Korean leader, assessed to be in his mid-thirties, would be considered severely obese and potentially at risk for various health problems.
Last April, during an unexplained absence, there was rampant speculation that Kim was in “grave danger” after an operation, that he was dead, or in a coma or brain-dead.
It turns out Kim was actually alive and well, but he definitely has not been the picture of perfect health. The following photo is one of Kim in late February or early March of this year.
The North Korean leader appeared on state-run KCTV on June 5, as NK News senior analytic correspondent Colin Zwirko noted on Twitter, and expert North Korea watchers pointed out that he looks to have shed some weight.
NK News conducted an analysis of multiple state media photos of Kim wearing his US$12,000 Portofino Automatic watch made by IWC Schaffhausen, noticing that the length of the strap past the buckle appears longer in recent photos than it did last November, indicating that he was able to wear it tighter on his wrist.