Deaths From Starvation Tripled in North Korea: South Korean Spy Agency

The agency alleged that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un weighs over 300 pounds

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the 7th enlarged plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) in Pyongyang, North Korea, on March 1, 2023. KCNA via Reuters

Deaths from starvation in North Korea have tripled compared to last year, according to South Korea’s state intelligence agency. Despite the dire situation, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is believed to weigh around 300 pounds.

Yoo Sang-bum, the executive secretary for the Parliamentary Intelligence Committee, said that prices of corn and rice in North Korea have risen by 60 percent and 30 percent this year, The Korean Herald reported.

The number of crimes in North Korea has also tripled, and the death toll from suicide has increased by 40 percent compared to the previous year, the South Korean lawmaker told reporters on May 31.

Yoo said that Kim might have a sleeping disorder and engage in “excessive alcohol and tobacco consumption,” as the National Intelligence Service (NIS) found that North Korean authorities have been “hoarding” insomnia medications, booze, and cigarettes.

“Based on the fact that North Korean authorities have been actively collecting the latest medical information, including medications such as zolpidem, for the treatment of insomnia in high-ranking officials abroad in April, the NIS estimates Chairman Kim is suffering from significant sleep disorders,” Yoo said.

Yoo said that Kim seemed tired during his public appearance on May 16, “with noticeable dark circles under his eyes,” although an analysis of his recent photos suggests the North Korean leader weighs around 300 pounds.

The NIS also assessed that Kim appeared to have scars and bruises on his wrists and arms, which are believed to have resulted from allergies and dermatitis.

“Since the end of last year, scratches and bruises have continuously been observed on Chairman Kim’s hands and arms, which are suspected to be a combination of allergies and stress-induced dermatitis,” Yoo said.

In August 2022, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol offered North Korea economic benefits in exchange for denuclearization steps, but the offer was rejected by the North Korean regime.

Kim has said there will be no denuclearization talks, negotiations, or “bargaining chips” in that process. The country adopted a first-use nuclear doctrine on Sept. 8, 2022, which Kim stated would make North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons state “irreversible.”

North Korea’s ‘Gruesome’ Human Rights Abuses

North Korea is a single-party state under Kim’s leadership. Basic liberties are withheld from the state’s 24 million people, with more than half living in extreme poverty and suffering abuse in the forms of execution, wrongful imprisonment, enforced disappearance, and forced labor.

A test launch of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Hwasong-18, at an undisclosed location in this still image of a photo used in a video released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 14, 2023. KCNA via Reuters TV

South Korea published a 445-page report detailing “gruesome” human rights abuses in North Korea, compiled based on the testimonies of 508 North Korean defectors between 2017 and 2022.

According to the report, six teenagers were shot dead by North Korean authorities in 2015 after being caught watching South Korean videos and smoking opium. In 2020, North Korea publicly executed a man for distributing South Korean videos.

The report also details the unethical human experiments carried out by North Korean authorities on people with physical disabilities or psychiatric conditions who were incapable of giving consent.

Defectors allege that North Korean officials blackmailed families into allowing their family members to become human test subjects or face detention at prison camps if they refused to comply.

North Korea conducted a series of missile launches this year, including one involving a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-18, all of which are banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions on North Korea’s missile program.

The United States has persisted in engaging in “direct talks” with North Korea without preconditions in favor of a diplomatic solution, but North Korea has rebuffed these efforts.