Overweight Kim Jong Un now weighs almost 290 pounds

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s weight gain appears to continue unabated, with the South Korean government estimating from his body shape and gait that he has put on some 30 kg (66 lbs) over the past five years, the Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported Saturday.

Since obesity is often linked to health problems such as cardiovascular disease, neighboring countries are paying close attention to changes in Kim’s waistline. The Chosun Ilbo quoted sources as attributing the weight gain to his gorging on food and drink due to stress.

When Kim officially emerged as successor to his father in September 2010, he was already considerably heavier than he appeared in the photos of him taken when he attended school in Switzerland in the 1990s.Others wondered whether he had intentionally packed on the pounds to more resemble his grandfather, the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung.

 [Japan Times]

This entry was posted in Kim Jong Un by Grant Montgomery.