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• North Korea's "Dear Leader" Kim Slims Down 

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's trademark paunch presses a little less snugly against his jumpsuits these days, but is that due to a healthier lifestyle or is he recovering from illness?

Two South Korean dailies ran pictures on Thursday of a slimmer Kim, 65, at a meeting this week with China's foreign minister, alongside photos taken about a year ago, in which he seemed plumper and with more hair in his famed bouffant coiffure. . . .

"Although Kim suffers from chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart problems, his health has not deteriorated enough to affect his public activities," the report said, according to a copy obtained by Yonhap news agency. . . .

Intelligence sources said it appeared he had tried to adopt a healthier lifestyle in recent years, and might have quit smoking.

The North's official media, which treat Kim with god-like reverence, have also made a shift in their coverage of one health issue. Several stories since 2003 spoke of efforts to cut down on the number of smokers, where they published almost none before.

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