'What went wrong with North Korea?' asked Lee Jo Won, a professor at South Korea's Chung-Ang University. 'Why should it fire off a barrage of missiles and conduct a nuclear test without gaining anything from them in return?'

Ha said Kim is believed to be ill enough to increase his fear of losing his grip on North Korea, where he is referred to as 'Dear Leader'.

Patients are put on dialysis when their kidneys, which remove waste from the blood, are not functioning properly. Dialysis machines are then used to cleanse the blood.

'Kim's blood cannot carry protein and nutrients into every corner of his body, causing his hair to thin, a loss in weight and his face skin to sag,' Ha said. 'His eyesight might have also weakened.'

Ha's description fit the television appearance Kim made July 8 at a memorial service for his father, Kim Il Sung, North Korea's first leader. He was thin, walked with a slight limp and had a slightly lopsided mouth.