Kim Jong-un may be suffering from insomnia and ‘worsening alcohol dependency’

There has been a rise in large amounts of foreign cigarettes and snacks being shipped into the North, the South Korean lawmaker says

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is likely suffering from insomnia and a potentially worsening alcohol and nicotine dependency, according to a South Korean spy agency.

Authorities in Pyongyang are “intensely” collecting the latest overseas medical information for top-ranking officials with insomnia, including details on medications used to treat the "severe" sleeping disorder, the National Intelligence Service told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Yoo Sang-bum, a lawmaker for South Korea’s ruling People Power Party, shared the details, adding that the North's leader is believed to weigh over 140kg, according to an artificial intelligence estimate.

Information regarding the health of North Korean leaders is kept a state secret and speculation about the condition of the 39-year-old present leader has been recurring due to his heavy smoking, apparent weight gain and family history of cardiovascular problems.

The North's tightly-controlled state media rarely mentions Mr Kim's health, except in March, when the Rodong Sinmun newspaper said Kim worked until 5am and was used to "working overnight".

"He appeared tired with clear dark circles around his eyes during his public appearance on May 16, and was estimated to weigh over 140 kilograms according to AI analysis," Mr Yoo, who is also a member of the parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters.

The South's spy agency said it is monitoring the possibility of Mr Kim falling into a "vicious cycle" of increased dependence on alcohol and nicotine. There has been a rise in large amounts of foreign cigarettes and snacks being shipped into the North, the lawmaker said.

The briefing took place hours after Pyongyang failed to put the country's first spy satellite into orbit with the booster and payload plunging into the sea in an embarrassment for Mr Kim.

The rocket carrying the "Chollima-1" satellite crashed into waters off the Korean Peninsula's western coast after losing thrust following the separation of its first and second stages.

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the supreme leader, on Thursday said a successful launch will be made soon, while criticising the US for its "gangster-like" hypocrisy.

Ms Kim said the North's efforts to acquire space-based reconnaissance capabilities were a legitimate exercise of its sovereign right.

Wednesday's launch was promptly condemned by Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo.

Reacting to Washington's criticism, Ms Kim said the US "is letting loose a hackneyed gibberish prompted by its brigandish and abnormal thinking".

"If the DPRK's [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] satellite launch should be particularly censored, the US and all other countries, which have already launched thousands of satellites, should be denounced. This is nothing but sophism of self-contradiction," she said.

She noted how the US closely monitors the North through its own reconnaissance satellites and other aerial assets, calling the Americans a "group of gangsters" who would deem it as "illegal and threatening" had Pyongyang attempted to send a satellite into space by balloon.

"The far-fetched logic that only the DPRK should not be allowed to do so according to the (UN Security Council's) 'resolution' which bans the use of ballistic rocket technology irrespective of its purpose, though other countries are doing so, is clearly a gangster-like and wrong one of seriously violating the DPRK's right to use space and illegally oppressing it," she said.

"It is certain that the DPRK's military reconnaissance satellite will be correctly put on space orbit in the near future and start its mission.”

Sean McFate, author and professor at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, said the North's satellite launch is mostly for "domestic political consumption" and unlikely to have a substantial impact.

"Kim’s autocracy is legitimised by the 'enduring threat' of the US, and this demonstration shows he’s fulfilling his social contract with North Koreans".