Slimmed down Kim Jong-un purges dozens of officials for ‘disastrous failings’ over country’s famine

A SLIMMED down Kim Jong-un has purged dozens of officials for their “disastrous failings” over the country’s famine.

The North Korean leader seems to have resumed a reign of terror, by axing the officials over his own disastrous failings amid a growing food shortage.

APNorth Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has trimmed down from his hefty 22 stone[/caption]

Credit: Pen NewsNorth Korea faces a crisis across its agricultural sector[/caption]

The official Rodong Sinmun, the North Korean newspaper that serves as the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, has repeatedly published warning messages in recent emails.

According to reports from The Shozunilbo, the paper said on Sunday that who is a loyal subject “becomes clearer on times of hardship”.

An editorial last week warned officials would end up “losers of the revolution” if they failed to maintain discipline.

“While mistakes made in the process are forgivable, causing critical harm to our party, country and people due to irresponsibility and negligence of duty is never acceptable,” it said.

The warnings followed Kim firing several senior officials, for causing a “crisis” in the fight against coronavirus.

Speaking at a meeting of the ruling Workers’ party on Tuesday, Kim accused officials of “causing a grave incident that poses a huge crisis to the safety of the nation and its people”, state news agency Korean Central News Agency said.z

One of those officials axed was a member of the top standing committee of the politburo, which only has five members – including Kim himself.

Kim called the meeting to deal with “chronic irresponsibility and incompetence” in the top ranks and blasted bureaucrats for “passiveness in planning and executing anti-virus measures amid the lengthening pandemic”.

The report did not elaborate on the nature of the “crisis” – or how the incident put North Koreans at risk.

Kim Jong Un last month addressed the growing crisis in his country’s agricultural sector on Tuesday, admitting the situation was “getting tense”.

APNorth Korea claims to have zero Covid cases[/caption]

KCTVA malnourished North Korean boy is fed a vitamin and mineral-enriched porridge supplied by the United Nations World Food Programme at a hospital in Sinyang county[/caption]

The despot also said the state-run economy cannot feed its citizens. 

Recent reports from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) said North Korea had just two months of supplies left.

While the price of essentials like rice and fuel have reportedly held firm, CNN reports citizens in the state’s capital Pyongyang are paying triple the regular price for potatoes, and £50 for some teabags.

Several politburo members, secretaries of the central committee, and officials of state agencies were booted out and replaced at the meeting, KCNA reports.

But it wasn’t confirmed if the shake-ups were related to the handling of the pandemic.

So far, North Korea has claimed to have zero Covid cases, despite testing thousands and sharing a border with China.

Hong Min, a senior analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification, told Associated Press: “There is no possibility that North Korea will ever admit to an infection even if there were mass transmissions.

“The North will definitely not reveal such developments and will continue to push forward an anti-virus campaign it has claimed to be the greatest.”

Min added: “But its also clear that something significant happened and it was big enough to warrant a reprimanding of senior officials.

“This could mean mass infections or some sort of situation where a lot of people were put at direct risk of infections.”

Despite confirming no cases, the reclusive country has brought in strict lockdown measures, including border closures and domestic travel curbs, pointing to concerns over the spread of the virus.

And the country declared a state of emergency and locked down the border city of Kaesong last year after a person who defected to South Korea three years ago returned across the border with symptoms of Covid.

The lockdown has strained an economy already battered by decades of mismanagement and crippling US-led sanctions over the country’s nuclear weapons program.

And North Korea’s 37-year-old dictator had chaired three extended Workers Party meetings in the first half of this year alone – a move which is highly unusual.

A North Korean government official said Kim Jong-un was “pressuring not the North Korean people but high-ranking officials.

During a meeting earlier this month, Kim warned officials to brace for more Covid restrictions, suggesting the country isn’t ready to open its borders anytime soon.

The leader’s crisis talks last week come after images of a new “slim Kim” emerged in recent weeks, as it was revealed he ballooned to more than 22 stone amid dire food shortages across his country.

Worried aides reportedly begged fridge-raiding Kim Jong-un to shed the blubber when he struggled to breathe after ballooning to 22 stone, say reports.

Those close to the North Korean despot are said to have pleaded with the heavy smoker to get fit and “take some rest” for the “good of his people”.

mages of the new “slim Kim” emerged in recent weeks after it was revealed he had piled on the pounds amid dire food shortages in his rogue state.

According to one source, 5ft 6ins Kim’s cronies say he gained weight due to work-related stress, drinking, heavy smoking and a high-fat diet.

Chosun Media reports he was eventually persuaded to head to a secretive health retreat after an intervention by key officials.

The source said concerned aides had “expressed worries about his health as he gained excessive weight.”

But starving North Koreans are increasingly worried about the health of their “emaciated” leader, according to state media.

State TV ran a highly-unusual story about his new trimmed-down look – even though any discussion of his health and personal life has always been off-limits.

It features an unnamed North Korean citizen close to tears saying their “Glorious Leader” now looks “emaciated” and people are getting very concerned.

However, analysts say the broadcast just shows the Pyongyang propaganda machine is trying to use Kim’s weight to reinforce loyalty to the regime in desperate times.

ReutersNorth Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks at a meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang last month[/caption]

KCTVKim appears to have trimmed down substantially[/caption]