{"id":27715,"date":"2014-07-09T18:17:12","date_gmt":"2014-07-09T09:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/en.dailynk.com\/en\/?p=27715"},"modified":"2020-01-17T08:45:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T23:45:00","slug":"kim-drags-feet-and-attracts-attent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/kim-drags-feet-and-attracts-attent\/","title":{"rendered":"Kim Drags Feet and Attracts Attention"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

North Korea\u2019s Kim Jung Eun was shown limping across the
\nstage at the start of yesterday\u2019s Party meeting convened to commemorate the 20<\/span>th<\/span> anniversary of the death of Kim Il Sung. State television aired live footage of
\nthe event, which took place at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium on the morning of the
\n8th.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Kim\u2019s health has been a source of constant speculation for some time,
\nparticularly in South Korea and Japan where his obesity and allegations of
\nheavy drinking receive undue attention. Yesterday’s swollen face and negative expression, in addition to the
\nlimp, have now inspired yet more speculation that his health is in decline. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Kim was the victim of similar speculation on December
\n17th<\/span> last year, when he appeared worn and haggard at an event
\ncommemorating the second anniversary of Kim Jong Il\u2019s death. At the time, Kim\u2019s
\nappearance was put down to the stress of the execution of his uncle, Jang Song
\nTaek, and, on a related note, Kim Kyung Hee\u2019s absence from the event. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

Attributing too much to Kim\u2019s limp and gloomy demeanor is
\nunwise. It could be the result of fatigue from an extensive spell of
\nonsite inspections on the country\u2019s East Sea coast, which will have kept him
\naway from Pyongyang. It may even be the outcome of a simple sporting accident.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Moreover, the fact that the North Korean press actually
\nbroadcast footage of the limping leader, where public displays of defects
\nin the leadership are subject to careful management, supports the claims that
\nhis limp is a temporary injury, and by no means evidence of chronic illness. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s self-evident that Kim Jung Eun is severely obese, but
\nsince we don\u2019t know that he is suffering from a specific illness, it\u2019s hard to
\nattribute his condition to anything in particular. There is a high possibility
\nthat it is due to his recent onsite inspections, where his obesity will have
\nworsened his fatigue compared to other people,\u201d Sejong Institute researcher
\nCheong Seong Chang told Daily NK. <\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n

Meanwhile, the most notable absences from yesterday\u2019s event
\nwere those of Kim Il Sung\u2019s daughter, Kim Kyung Hee, and the director of the
\nUnited Front Department of the Party, Kim Yang Geon, who has been subject to
\nspeculation about his position since he failed to appear on stage at the Supreme People\u2019s Assembly
\nsession in April this year.<\/o:p><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

North Korea\u2019s Kim Jung Eun was shown limping across the stage at the start of yesterday\u2019s Party meeting convened to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of Kim Il Sung. State television aired live footage of the event, which took place at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium on the morning of the 8th. Kim\u2019s health has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":27717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nKim Drags Feet and Attracts Attention - North Korea News \u2014 Daily NK | Latest DPRK Updates 2026<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailynk.com\/english\/kim-drags-feet-and-attracts-attent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kim Drags Feet and Attracts Attention\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"North Korea\u2019s Kim Jung Eun was shown limping across the stage at the start of yesterday\u2019s Party meeting convened to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of Kim Il Sung. 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