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Kim Jong Un, North Korea's supreme leader, was pictured with a strange mark on the back of his head, which was later covered with a band-aid.
The state media images were spotted by NK News, a South Korea-based outlet dedicated to covering the country. They were tweeted by its founder Chad O'Carroll:
Mysterious spot and bandage appear on back of Kim Jong Un’s head https://t.co/IaRCEzzyTRpic.twitter.com/jd2Ppz7jdX
— Chad O'Carroll (@chadocl) August 2, 2021
Insider watched back a July broadcast — from the state-run KCTV network — showing Kim with the band-aid at a military event.
NK News published several more images showing the marking, which in some images appears dark green, at earlier events.
Much official footage appeared to avoid showing the back of his head, despite it appearing in some state media photographs, the outlet reported.
It's not clear exactly what the bruise-like marking is. According to a report South Korea's Chosun Ilbo news outlet, intelligence officials in the south did not consider the marking or band-aid to indicate a major issue.
The images follow intense speculation over Kim's health in early July, when South Korea's spy agency said that he had lost around 44 pounds in a short amount of time.
Kim had appeared to have become obese over the years of his leadership, weighing an estimated 300 pounds before his sudden weight loss.
Kim's weight — and his health in general — are watched carefully worldwide as potential indicators of the health and power base of his secretive regime, as Insider's Ryan Pickrell reported.
When the leader was unusually absent from public view in April 2020, CNN reported that US intelligence believed he may be in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery. Kim returned to public duties in apparent good health, then lost weight in the following months.
Is it just the camera angle or has Kim lost a *lot* of weight? https://t.co/sOZ6dFJxsw
— Vipin Narang (@NarangVipin) June 5, 2021
In mid-July, two of Kim's luxurious party yachts were spotted in satellite images of the area around his Wonsan palace, suggesting he or close friends were vacationing there at the time.
North Korea claims to be free of COVID-19 and has released no figures concerning cases there. However, in early July Kim admonished several of his senior cabinet for causing a "great crisis" relating to the pandemic, without offering specifics.
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