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VIDEO on North Korean state television shows Kim Jong-un apparently struggling to walk down a slope after dramatic weight loss sparked health fears.
Regime propaganda claimed the despot’s body “completely withered away” last year out of “suffering” for the people of his impoverished nation.
It comes after a month-long disappearance raised fresh doubts about who was in charge of the nuclear-armed pariah state.
Kim reemerged in December looking gaunt and thinner than ever after he reportedly shed 44lbs in the summer.
And he looked older than his reported age of 40 in pictures of him at a politburo meeting in January.
The latest footage of Kim was revealed in a documentary titled 2021: A Great Victorious Year, which was aired by the state-run Korean Central TV.
Wearing a baggy shirt and trousers that hang off him, the tyrant is seen gingerly stepping down a ramp on a rainy construction site last August.
He goes down sideways slowly placing his feet on wooden battens – while his uniformed lackeys walk normally down the slope facing forwards.
Addressing Kim’s weight loss, the narrator says: “He showed us his fatherly side by doggedly braving snow, rain and wind while taking on the fate of the nation and people like his own children.
“His body completely withered away, and he showed his motherly side by greatly suffering and worrying to realise the dreams of the people.”
Other footage shows Kim galloping on a fairytale white horse through woods and on a beach near one of his east coast mega mansions.
It is edited together with footage of tanks blasting their guns, although it is not clear if he was present for the drills.
The documentary also boasted of Kim’s “busy year” even though 2021 saw the lowest number of public appearances in his ten-year reign, reports NK News.
Notably, it directly acknowledged the “worst ever hardships” and national “food crisis”, which has previously been hushed up as millions faced famine.
North Korea watchers say the propaganda film is an attempt to spin Kim’s weight loss as a sacrifice out of solidarity with the starving masses.
Last June another state TV item showed a tearful citizen saying people were worried for the “emaciated” leader.
It was highly unusual as normally Kim’s health and personal life are strictly off-limits.
Kim’s dramatic weight swings have long been the subject of speculation.
South Korean spies said he put on more than a stone a year after taking power, and he ballooned to a rumoured 22st after gorging on cheese and wine.
Doctors warned he was a “heart attack waiting to happen” and at high risk of early death.
He is also reported to suffer from gout – joint pain linked to a rich diet – which could perhaps explain his difficulty on the slope.
More recently his sudden weight loss sparked rumours he has had a gastric bypass op during one of his absences.
Kim took at least seven breaks lasting two weeks or more in 2021, according to NK News.
He also vanished from public view for long stretches in 2020.
Last June, Kim reappeared in public looking substantially thinner, following a month-long absence.
Yesterday, North Korea released photos it said were taken from space during its biggest rocket launch for years.
Kim was not present for the launch, the country’s seventh so far in 2022.
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