An expert says that unusual markings on Kim Jong Un's skull may indicate a drug addiction caused by suffering.

Last week, North Korea's leader was seen with a massive black mark on his skull, which was not the first time he had been photographed with such a flaw.

Expert: Kim Jong Un Takes Drug Injections To Protect "Strongman Image"

According to Michael Madden, a top researcher on North Korea's elite, there are a few explanations, including bruising from getting injections. Madden, a fellow at The Stimson Center in Washington DC who also runs the North Korea Leadership Watch website, speculated that the injections may be intended to safeguard Kim Jong Un's image as a strongman.

North Korea is notorious for being brutally dictatorial and for portraying false impressions of events and its leader's activities. The analyst went on to explain that regime elites talk about the Kim family in the same manner that they gossip about soap operas like Coronation Street and EastEnders.

As a result, it is rare for information about Jong-un to be unengineered in some way, as his appearing weak may cause alarm or be dangerous to his authority. Recently, footage of crying zealots was published after it was reported that the country's leader had been unwell while dealing with the coronavirus outbreak.

They still claim 74 deaths and that the virus arrived on North Korean soil in May of this year. Analysis of his recent public appearances, which are now fewer than usual, show him traveling short distances or standing motionless to deliver statements.

Comparisons were drawn to previous footage, which showed the 38-year-old to be significantly more lively. In 2021, it was reported that the leader had lost a significant amount of weight, which looks to have been regained. Steroid therapy is linked to both serious sickness and weight gain.

Kim Jong-il, my father, is reported to have had a calcium deposit in his neck that looked like a tumor and meant he could only ever be photographed from one side. Whatever the exact cause, the analyst is certain that the indicators point to medical intervention, Mirror reported.

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North Korea Restarts Missile Tests

According to a South Korean military source, North Korea fired two cruise missiles from the west coast town of Onchon early Wednesday. South Korean and US military officials are evaluating data on the rockets' flight, including range. The launches came only one day after Seoul and Washington began four days of preparatory joint drills in preparation for the long-delayed live field training Ulchi Freedom Shield, which will take place from August 22 to September 1.

Due to COVID-19 and to reduce tensions with the North, the two partners have reduced back combined military training in recent years. Meanwhile, the Pentagon said on Tuesday that the United States, South Korea, and Japan took part in a ballistic missile defense exercise off the coast of Hawaii last week, the first such maneuvers since 2017, when ties between Seoul and Tokyo were at their lowest point in years.

While Pyongyang has not launched a missile test in two months, it fought a COVID-19 outbreak for months until declaring victory last week. The North, on the other hand, has been seen prepping for a probable nuclear test, its first since 2017, as per Fox News.

Sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council prevent Pyongyang from conducting more ballistic missile and nuclear tests, but the resolutions do not apply to conventional weapons development. For weeks, US authorities have been warning that the North was preparing to resume its nuclear program for the first time since 2017. Observers saw last week's announcement of triumph against COVID as an indication that the testing will resume shortly.

President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea celebrated his 100th day in office. Yoon ran on a promise to deepen the country's partnership with the US to discourage more disruptive military maneuverings by the North. South Korea's president openly offered Kim's regime economic incentives if he agreed to abandon the country's nuclear development on Monday.

Denuclearization discussions between the United States, North Korea, and South Korea stagnated in 2019. In recent years, strained US-China ties have made any engagement more difficult.

In preparation for the possible return of nuclear weapons testing on the Korean Peninsula, the US Navy, along with South Korean and Japanese naval forces, conducted a joint ballistic missile search and tracking exercise in Hawaii between August 8 and 14, in accordance with Defense Department on Tuesday, according to Newsweek via MSN.

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