Images published this week showing the leader walking with a cane have largely been welcomed as a sign of greater transparency, sources inside the country tell DailyNK

When Kim Jong-un reappeared from his 40-day stint out of the public eye, many North Koreans were surprised to see pictures of their leader walking with the aid of a cane.

Rodong Sinmun, the official Chosun workers’ party newspaper, published images this week showing Kim visiting a new residential complex for scientists in the Wisong District of Pyongyang, in which he lent heavily on a walking stick.

The ‘Third Broadcast’ radio channel, which only North Koreans are exposed to, also ran news of Kim’s “field guidance” trip, adding that the leader made the tour despite his “state of discomfort,” according to a source in North Hamgyung Province. Though state television broadcast footage of Kim walking with a limp in July, before his time out of the limelight, reaction to these new pictures has been marked.

“Never in the days of Suryeong Kim Il-sung [North Korea’s founding father] or General Kim Jong-il have we seen them walking with canes,” the source said. “So today everyone was talking about it without exception.”



Kim Il-sung died suddenly from a heart attack in 1994 but was always shown in good health in the country’s carefully controlled state media reports. Former leader Kim Jong-il – who was Kim Jong-un’s father – did go through a period of ill-health due to a stroke in 2008. But until his death in 2011, North Korean media was careful to only publish images of him looking well and able.



“In public spaces, such as the jangmadang [marketplace] or enterprises, people are saying the leader has been on too many ‘field guidance tours’ and that has caused him health problems,” the source said. “But among close friends and family they are whispering that his leg is having problems because he is too obese.”



“Our Marshal must be at least 100 kilograms,” people have said about Kim Jong-un’s physique, according to the source. “It’s very rare to see anyone who has body type like the leader in this country.”

I do feel a change in broadcast and media coverage under the current leadership.

In public, people say “our leader has a fine presence,” but in private they ask “what is it that he eats alone to make his body like that,” the source added.

In North Korea, statements that are perceived to be critical of the country’s leader can result in arrest and a stint in a re-education camp.

In response to the media coverage, another source in Sinuiju reported: “A lot of people said after seeing today’s newspaper that the media have changed their method of coverage. Usually, it’s a rule that our papers do not report on anything that is negative, but Rodong Sinmun disclosed our leader with his cane unfiltered.”

The source said some residents have taken this as a sign that newspapers in North Korea are trying to be more objective in their reporting.



“Coverage from today is significantly different from the past, where you would see young women from the Wangjaesan art troupe kicking up their legs in short skirts on television,” the source added, noting that the news seems far less sensational. “I do feel a change in broadcast and media coverage under the current leadership.”

However, not all North Koreans welcomed the pictures of their leader. Another source from Yangkang Province told Daily NK: “Some people have questioned why they need to report things like this.”

Some have suggested Kim Jong-un should focus on his recovery. “[Some say] our leader is a human being and can get sick... If he insists on going out on field guidance like that, it’s just going to cause his aides a lot of trouble,” the source said.

A version of this article first appeared on DailyNK, which contacts multiple sources inside and outside North Korea to verify information. Sources remain anonymous to protect their identities.