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By Beth Stibal |

What’s up with Kim Jong Un’s apparent massive weight loss?

North Korea
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, Kim Jong Un attends a meeting in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, June 4, 2021. Kim has presided over a meeting of his ruling party in his first public appearance in about a month, and called for a larger political conference to discuss efforts to salvage a decaying economy. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

After a long absence from the viewing public, North Korea’s Kim Jong Un has reappeared noticeably slimmer. He appears to have shed some pounds, a “significant amount of weight,” which has led to questions about his health.

Kim Jong Un
FILE – In this March 4, 2021, file photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivers a speech during a workshop of chief secretaries of city and county committees of the ruling Workers’ Party in Pyongyang, North Korea. State media say Kim vowed to launch an “uncompromising struggle” against anti-socialist elements and build a perfect self-supporting economy. Kim’s comments released Thursday, May 27, 2021 come as he seeks greater internal strength to overcome pandemic-related difficulties and U.S.-led sanctions. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

The question is if he lost the weight intentionally for health reasons or if he he’s wasting away due to ill health?

Some are speculating that Kim Jong Un’s weight loss could be due to health concerns.

“On the surface, noticeable weight loss may not mean much, but it can provide clues to other information that intelligence collectors look for,” Mike Brodka, an intelligence officer for US Special Operations Command in South Korea, also told NK News.

“It may be a simple matter of a healthy lifestyle change or a more complex issue,” Brodka said.

“Right now, we do not know, but it raises enough serious questions that we must pay attention to events over the next couple of months to find out.”

Kim, who is also a heavy smoker, has struggled with health issues that are most likely a biproduct of his weight and lifestyle.

In 2014, he disappeared for almost six weeks before reappearing with a walking stick. Days later, the South Korean spy agency claimed he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.

And a three-week absence last spring sparked rumors that he had fallen seriously ill after undergoing heart surgery — though a more plausible theory was that he had just been isolating during the coronavirus pandemic.

NK News forensic analysis of state media imagery does suggest that Kim appeared thinner last Saturday, as the luxury watch he frequently wears seemed to be fastened more tightly than before around an apparently slimmer wrist.

The NIS reportedly told ROK lawmakers in 2020 that they believed the 5’7″ Kim weighed 140 kilograms (308 pounds) and had “gained an average of 6 to 7 kilograms per year,” or 50 kg total, since coming to power in late 2011.