Kim’s medical secrets revealed to the world

Dr Seok Young-hwan said the reclusive “Dear Leader” survives on a diet of herbal remedies first tested on ordinary citizens who suffer from heart disease who share his age and blood type.

Mr Kim was pictured last week limping on his left side while clambering into his armoured train on a trip to Russia, with Seoul officials speculating that the 69-year-old’s health may not have improved as much as previously thought following a stroke in 2008.

Dr Seok, once based at the Kim il-Sung Longevity Research Institute, was part of an “anti-ageing team” treating Jong-il.

The human guinea pigs, said Dr Seok, were considered “lucky” since they were given “good medicine” not available to the public in the Communist state.

“Simply put, the long life research institute is to look after the general,” said the 47-year-old, who defected in 1998. “It’s not a place you can apply to work at. It’s a place you are dragged into.”