'Turn Hurdles Into Victories': Kim Jong-un Compares Current Situation in North Korea to Korean War

North Korea’s supreme leader has lost a significant amount of weight in recent months, with the country’s media saying it's the result of the hard work he's been putting in to help the country.

Kim Jong-un has compared the current situation in North Korea to the troubles the country experienced during the Korean War (1950-53). 

“For us today, the unprecedented global health crisis and the hardships and difficulties caused by the prolonged lockdown are no less challenging than the situation of war,” the supreme leader said at a ceremony marking the 68th anniversary of the Korean War.

Looking visibly slimmer than a few months ago, he said that there was nothing to worry about though, as the country will, as usual, “turn today's difficult hurdles into new, greater victories.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a ceremony at the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum to mark the 68th anniversary of the Korean armistice in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo supplied by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 27, 2021

© REUTERS / KCNA

No peace treaty has ever been signed between the two sides following the Korean War, which unofficially ended with an armistice on 27 July 1953. Every year, North Korea commemorates this date as Victory Day.

On Tuesday, Seoul and Pyongyang officially restored communication channels after they were shut down for more than a year due to tensions following South Korean dropping political leaflets into North Korea from balloons. 

‘The Worst in History’

According to South Korean intelligence, Kim Jong-un has shed between 10-20 kg in recent months.

North Korea’s state-media has attributed his rapid weight loss to hard work, as concerned citizens expressed their worries on national TV. South Korea says Kim has probably just been on a diet. 

North Korea's leader previously acknowledged that his country was struggling with “the worst” crisis in its history amid international sanctions and the global pandemic. According to the country's official figures, it has so far registered zero COVID cases, although this has not been verified.