Adding to speculation regarding Kim’s health was a rare public appearance last week during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Pyongyang.
Though Kim looked well, he seemed a bit thinner and appeared to have less hair compared with footage of a public appearance in April, sparking speculation in South Korean media about his health. The South’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, said last month that Kim has long had heart disease and diabetes, but that there was no sign the chronic ailments.