Kim Jong Un was pictured looking noticeably slimmer at a recent policy meeting and it's all down to his eating less "for the sake of the country", North Korean officials say.
The leader appeared thinner in photos released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that were taken during a key ruling party meeting on December 28. He's previously used this forum to make major policy announcements, including his positions on relations with the United States and South Korea or his country's nuclear programme.
KCNA says this recent meeting allowed officials to decide on "the strategic and tactical policies and practical tasks for dynamically guiding the struggle of our party and people to usher in a new period of the development of socialist construction to the next stage of victory".
But Kim's noticeable weight loss captured at the meeting caught people's attention. According to the Daily Mail, government authorities insist he's eating less for the country's sake as it grapples with severe food shortages.
They insist he is in great health.
North Korea suffered severe flooding last year, which damaged vital crops and left hundreds of families without homes. Crops were also damaged this year by droughts and subsequent flooding.
It's still unknown whether the country's dire food shortages will factor into any decisions made at this week's plenary meeting.
North Koreans were reportedly heartbroken over Kim's apparent weight loss in June after he was videoed looking considerably thinner.
Reuters reported at the time that Pyongyang residents were seen watching a big screen on the street showing a concert attended by Kim and party officials after a meeting. No details were given on what led to his weight loss at the time.
Kim's health has been a source of speculation before. A three-week absence last year sparked rumours he'd fallen gravely ill, with some believing he'd even died, although he emerged appearing to be in good health.
And in 2014, he wasn't seen for six weeks before reappearing with a walking stick, with South Korea's spy agency claiming he'd undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.
