A major challenge for North Korean spies and researchers is the accurate monitoring of the health of Kim Jong Un, a 37-year-old secret leader.
Kim appeared on a radio video in recent weeks after a long absence and looks very thin. This sparked rumors among North Korean guards from Seoul to Washington. If a president suddenly becomes seriously ill, it could provoke a massive nuclear holocaust.
The article exposed Pyongyang’s leadership tensions and the deterioration of North Korea’s intelligence during the corona virus epidemic, which has added to the mystery of the country’s secrecy.
Kim’s health is “the biggest card” in assessing stability in North Korea, says Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA investigator who briefed former US President George W Bush and Barack Obama in North Korea and is now a senior think tank in Center for Strategic and International Study. “And since they do not have any kind of ideas, they are very influential… The interest is very high.”
Kim replaced his father Kim Jong Il as leader in 2011 and is known for his love of alcohol and cigarettes. Kim’s family also has a history of diabetes and heart disease and foreign governments have been monitoring every aspect of their health. No one knows if Kim’s low profile shows positive or negative changes, says Terry.
Recent uncertainties mark major changes from 2018 to 2019, with Kim holding foreign talks, meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-President Donald Trump. The program of more conversations it gave the spies a chance to see him.
At the time, 1.75m tall Kim was estimated to weigh about 136kg, according to a the history of the North Korean leader written by Anna Fifield, former Financial Times columnist. He was known to be overweight.
Kim Jong Un, right, with former President Donald Trump at the war zone in Panmunjom, South Korea, in 2019 © REUTERS
But there were limits to allowing spies to obtain more information even on the trip. The leader’s condition is so well protected that when he goes outside, he uses a special toilet to prevent samples from being picked up by outside agents, Fifield said.
The epidemic has exacerbated the problem of wanting to know Kim’s health and raise more questions. North Korea reduces travel and trade in January 2020 and many foreign delegates and assistants based in Pyongyang have left the country.
The number of international exchanges with North Korea dropped from 398 in 2018, to more than 200 countries, to just two last year and by 2021, according to NK Pro, a public awareness campaign in North Korea.
“We came back unknowingly. It’s very difficult… No one enters or exits. It is now more closed than usual,” said Terry.
Boundary limits and disruption of internal flow are present metal and it led to food shortages. Kim this week warned of a “major incident” related to the epidemic and ordered a change in the authorities.
“Kim may be afraid that his enemies may want to use this opportunity as an opportunity to weaken his power, or to undermine the change of government,” said Soo Kim, a researcher at Rand Corporation’s tank and former CIA, adding that he may be concerned about change. any of its health can show external weakness.
Researchers are also trying to determine what changes Kim’s body changes mean.
North Koreans say they are concerned that weight loss is a sign of the leader’s suffering, according to state media.
Rachel Lee, a former U.S. government researcher and Pyongyang media analyst, said that when the North Korean people began to talk about the leader’s appearance, government officials “thought of accepting this and used it to show Kim’s commitment and hard work to the people”.
Lee added that this reflects a change in leadership, financial management and lies under Kim, and a more transparent and public action process. He also mentioned several times when an American radio video showed Kim walking with a limp or walking stick, as well as her public confession of her failures.
“While in the past, North Korea has been reluctant to accept or address public issues, under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, it has been accepting and addressing them publicly, before,” he said.
Some researchers have warned against misreading North Korea. “It can… Send false warnings to the makers of these policies, which could lead to irreversible decisions or that could jeopardize our interests,” said Soo Kim of Rand.
Disrupting Kim’s health image was a photo released by state media this week showing a pack of cigarettes and ashes on the leader’s desk. The image will also be a shock to Ri Sol Ju, Kim’s wife, who complained to the South Korean delegation in 2018 that she “wouldn’t make him quit smoking”, according to Fifield.
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