Testimony has emerged from a former National Intelligence Service agent that Kim Jong Un, the General Secretary of the North Korean Workers’ Party, has a son who is too thin to appear in public.
The reason for this is that the virtue of a North Korean leader is to be well-built and plump like Kim Il Sung, and this is also why Kim Ju Ae appeared in place of her brother.
On the 23rd (local time), British tabloid, Daily Mail, reported the words of former National Intelligence Service agent Choi Soo Yong saying, “General Secretary Kim has given up on presenting his son to the public because his son’s appearance is not attractive.”
In other words, “General Secretary Kim’s son is pale and thin, unlike his plump self and his younger sister (Kim Ju Ae).”
Additionally, it was reported that the most important thing for a North Korean leader is to resemble the well-built and plump Kim Il Sung. Since the North Korean citizens also consider this style as their leader, General Secretary Kim gave up on showcasing his son.
Michael Madden, a North Korean expert at the American think tank Stimson Center, argued, “General Secretary Kim was thin during his successor days, but to establish authority in front of older North Korean military generals, he had to gain weight, following the words of his father (Kim Jong Il) and aunt (Kim Kyong Hui), to resemble Kim Il Sung.”
Meanwhile, Choi Soo Yong told the Daily Mail that “General Secretary Kim has a total of four children, two with Ri Sol Ju, and the other two are out of wedlock.”
Regarding the matter, the National Intelligence Service reported to the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee in March last year that it appears that General Secretary Kim’s children are three in total, including the eldest son, Kim Ju Ae, and the youngest whose gender is unknown.
buckbak@news1.kr