Kim Jong Un 'has a secret SON who is kept out of the public eye because he is too pale and thin'

KIM Jong Un has a son but he's too 'pale and thin' for North Korean tastes and is kept out of the public eye, a former spymaster says.

The bombshell claim was made by Choe Su-yong, a retired official from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in neighbouring South Korea.

Citing sources in the North, he alleged that the lad's 'unappealing physical appearance seems to have discouraged Kim from disclosing his son in public'.

'Unlike his father, or his sister who is plump and well-fed, Kim's son is said to be pale and thin,' he told the Korea Times.

'I heard that his son doesn't look like his great-grandfather, Kim Il-sung, at all.'

North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un's daughter takes after him in terms of weight

The supreme leader wasn't always big, when he was young he was actually rather skinny

For North Korean leaders, a resemblance to Kim Il-sung – the nation's chubby founder – is thought to be a must-have attribute.

The current leader has been accused of playing up his resemblance to Kim Il-sung, his grandfather, in a bid to bolster his own legitimacy.

And there may be more chubby North Korean leaders to come – Kim Jong Un's 'plump' daughter, Kim Ju-ae, entered the public eye in late 2022.

Conversely, no known photos of his 'pale and thin' son have yet emerged. But experts think we can visualise him simply by looking at a younger Kim Jong Un – who himself used to be skinny.

A handful of photos have emerged showing the trim tyrant before he ballooned to his present size. Michael Madden, founder of North Korea Leadership Watch, said: 'When Kim Jong Un was the hereditary successor, he was actually thin.

'You go back and see those pictures. He was a thinner dude.

'His father and his aunt told him that he needed to gain weight so that he could project authority.

'So that when those North Korean elites, especially those old generals, saw this 27/28-year-old guy, they would feel physically intimidated by him.'

Mr Madden – a fellow of the Stimson Center in Washington DC – said this preference for plus-sized leaders also had a historical basis.

He said: 'There's some Korean concepts about how we present ourselves to other people, and there is a certain idea about attraction and attractability.

North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un is well known to be on the rather plump side

'The definition of what is considered attractive and pleasant-looking is going to differ far from something we would see in the west.

'When we see Kim Jong Un, when we see his father – we see his grandfather, right? Chubby cheeks, right? Rosie chubby cheeks, smile on the face.

'Being thin and austere is going to remind the North Korean population that almost a million people starved to death during the late 1990s.'

The NIS believes Kim Jong Un has three kids – the son is the oldest, followed by Kim Ju-ae, and then a child of unknown gender.

Choe agrees that the eldest is a son, but believes the dictator has only two legitimate children – this unnamed son and Kim Ju-ae – plus two kids born out of wedlock.

For Mr Madden, the question of which child ultimately ascends to power is still unanswered. 

He highlighted the example of Kim Jong Un, who bulked up before claiming the top job.

He said: 'That's what would happen with a pale and thin Kim kid, is he's going to be told to gain weight and get some sunshine.

'It worked out for the current leader.' Conversely, North Korea has form for passing over the first-born and giving the leadership to a younger sibling.

Kim Jong Un was picked over his big brother, Kim Jong-chul, who his father reportedly deemed 'no good because he is like a little girl'.

A heavy rider - the chubby supreme leader is reported to weigh around 22 stone

And though North Korea has never had a female leader, Mr Madden thinks that's not necessarily an obstacle to Kim Ju-ae.

He said: 'If Kim Jong Un decides that his daughter is going to be hereditary successor… the last time I checked, North Korea is a dictatorship.

'So when the leader says go, we go, right? 'Good luck standing up and opposing that when that happens.'