Is Kim Jong Il in the hospital?

Reports surfaced yesterday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is under hospital care (again), after Kim’s health took a turn for the worse last month. It’s unclear whether he’s been replaced by a body double, but suspicions run rampant: In April NightWatch presented side-by-side images of Chubby Kim and Cadaverous Kim published by the ...

Reports surfaced yesterday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is under hospital care (again), after Kim's health took a turn for the worse last month. It's unclear whether he's been replaced by a body double, but suspicions run rampant:

Reports surfaced yesterday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is under hospital care (again), after Kim’s health took a turn for the worse last month. It’s unclear whether he’s been replaced by a body double, but suspicions run rampant:

In April NightWatch presented side-by-side images of Chubby Kim and Cadaverous Kim published by the North Koreans within a few days of each other. The latest image shows a man whose physiology is in-between the others, but whose left arm is straight down and never moves in the 66 second clip.  It might be Kim but only his handlers would know.

Kim’s last public appearance took place in April. But prior to that, he had not been seen since August 2008, when many suspect he was hit by a stroke. Though a photo of him made the rounds shortly thereafter, the image is widely believed to have been doctored.

Brian Fung is an editorial researcher at FP.

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