North Korea has portrayed leader Kim Jong-un in a vulnerable way. For example, in a documentary, Kim looks thinner than before and sometimes has difficulty walking.
However, in the nearly two-hour film ‘The Great Year of Victory, 2021’, it is explained that he is tackling the problems of his country.
Reports about Kim’s health are closely followed internationally by intelligence services and experts. His totalitarian regime has nuclear weapons and regularly creates unrest by testing missiles. It is unclear who will succeed the leader if something happens to him and what that would mean for the stability of North Korea.
The documentary talks about the development of missiles and other projects. These are presented as signals that the country is on its way to “victory”. In practice, impoverished North Korea, according to observers, faces food shortages and major economic problems. This is partly due to heavy international sanctions.
Kim plays the lead role in the documentary. At some point, it can be seen that he is struggling down a flight of stairs. Finally, the narrator concludes that the dictator, who is revered in his own country, has used “his own body” to realize the dreams of his people. There is no explicit mention of Kim’s weight loss, who also comes into the picture as he watches the rising sun on a white horse.