North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to have tightened his watch strap by a notch, according to recent pictures; evidence that he has been losing weight, according to analysts who study such trivia for any clues to activities in the notoriously secretive state.
NK News, which reports from Seoul in South Korea, says that Kim is closely watched for any signs that may point to improving or deteriorating health.
Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), is quoted by NK News saying that, “If [the sudden weight loss] is due to a health condition, the jockeying for his succession may already be happening behind the scenes, and that volatility could be trouble for the outside world.”
A gold IWC Portofino Automatic, selling today for £10,900, is said to be the North Korean leader’s favourite watch, and is seen in pictures taken late last year and in the past week.
It has a brown leather strap that appears to be a notch or two tighter in the most recent photographs.
