08 January 2024 , 15:09
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North Korea's brutal leader Kim Jong-un is set to have a "low key" 40th birthday amid his rumoured health battles.
The Supreme Leader, who is understood to turn 40 today, does not follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather by having a birthday holiday assigned to him and he is expected to celebrate the milestone in a "lowkey" affair with his family. Each year the occasion tends to pass with little to no mention in state media and his date of birth has never been officially confirmed - but according to the US government, he was born on January 8, 1984.
Expert Michael Madden, who runs North Korea Leadership Watch, said his birthday, as usual, is likely to be a low-key affair. He told The Sun: "We can assume with the highest degree of confidence that Kim Jong-un will have a dinner and note the occasion. There may well be some other recreation or activity planned like horseback riding, or maybe he will watch sports or play guitar and sing."
South Korea's intelligence agency believes the brutish leader may be suffering from insomnia as well as alcohol and nicotine dependency. As Kim marks his birthday, Mr Madden told The Sun he's likely to be receiving cortisone injections in his neck to relieve pressure for an unknown nerve or muscular condition.
Despite his health battles, Mr Madden said Kim, whose private life has long been shrouded in mystery, is expected to still indulge in a dinner. The leader has drastically lost weight, according to pictures, in recent years but some experts have previously claimed Kim's weight is a well-cultivated ploy to make him look like his revered grandfather.
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Kim Jong Un speaking on new years eve 2023 (KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)Last month, the despot was pictured wiping tears with a white handkerchief while addressing thousands of women at a national mothers' meeting in the capital Pyongyang. He said women must halt a fall in the country’s births to strengthen national power, according to state media.
According to North Korean state media reports this year, the country has introduced a set of benefits for families with three or more children, including preferential free housing arrangements, state subsidies, free food, medicine household goods and educational perks for children.
The North Korean leader also reportedly warned parents to eliminate foreign influence on young minds, instructing them to send their children to perform hard labour for the state to correct bad behaviour that is not "our style." North Korea implemented birth control programs in the 1970s-80s to slow postwar population growth.