The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, has not been seen in public for a month. This has sparked a wave of rumors and speculation in the global media about what is happening to the leader of the DPRK. China and South Korea say Kim Jong Un is alive.
In a break with long-standing tradition, the leader did not appear in person at the annual April 15 celebration of the birthday of his own grandfather and the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung. Traditionally, the country tests new types of missile weapons on this day, but contrary to expectations, North Korean state media did not publish photos of the leader at the test site.
All of this prompted global news outlets to come up with a whole series of versions of what is actually happening to the leader of North Korea. Some claimed that 36-year-old Kim Jong-un had just undergone heart surgery, while others spoke of health problems related to Kim’s diabetes and obesity. American intelligence unexpectedly confirmed that the health of the leader of one of the world’s most reclusive countries is also a major concern for intelligence agencies, and they are actively seeking any data on his condition. The few mass media in North Korea seemed to completely ignore the international media noise. They continued to publish statements on behalf of the country’s leader on the state of the economy and other issues, paying little attention to the fact that these statements were somewhat delayed.
On April 12, North Korean state media reported that Kim Jong Un had inspected the air defense system in the western part of the country. According to American experts, this was nothing new: Kim Jong Un, who was educated in Switzerland, had often disappeared from the international media spotlight to focus on domestic affairs. In addition, the young leader has had health problems in the past. According to the author of the book “The Great Successor” by Anna Fifield, dedicated to the current leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un is just over 170 cm tall and weighs almost 140 kg. He is also a smoker, suffers from gout and, according to Western intelligence, may be undergoing treatment for diabetes.
The first report of Kim Jong Un’s disappearance came from a publication published by North Korean refugees who have settled in South Korea. According to their claims, the young leader has undergone major heart surgery and is now in an induced coma as doctors fight for his life. Most of the questions arose after Kim’s absence at the celebration of the country’s most important holiday – the Day of the Sun, which is celebrated in North Korea on April 15, the day dedicated to Kim Il-sung’s grandfather, the founder of North Korea, Kim Il-sung. On this day, the current head of state usually even wears the same robe as his predecessor. “Kim Jong Un cannot fail to visit Kumsusan Palace on April 15, it is considered an insult in North Korea,” said Chen Sen-chang, an expert at the Sejong Institute in South Korea, according to the New York Times.
A few days earlier, North Korea conducted several missile launches that were detected by U.S. and NATO monitoring facilities. However, in a break with long-established rules, the North Korean media did not publish photos of the tests with Kim Jong Un personally present at one of the monitoring sites. Normally, North Korean agencies would release such photos no later than two hours after the tests.
On April 20, a South Korean publication run by North Korean refugees published a report that Kim Jong-un had undergone heart surgery. Citing “numerous sources,” the publication claimed that the country’s leader is currently undergoing treatment at a villa outside Pyongyang. The media in South Korea soon clarified that the publication did not have “numerous sources” and that they used only one source of information in preparing the material. However, this did not prevent the global media, including the CNN television network and the Reuters news agency, from reporting that “Kim is in critical condition. CNN, citing an anonymous source in the U.S. intelligence community, said that American intelligence is “closely monitoring” the health of the North Korean leader. The White House and the U.S. State Department did not respond to the request of the Russian service of the BBC. The American diplomatic agency only said that they had information about the health of Kim Jong Un “from media reports”. Earlier last week, US President Donald Trump said the administration had no information on the North Korean leader’s health. “I just hope he’s okay,” the White House chief said in response to journalists’ questions. “I’ve had a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un. And I want to believe that he is fine. We don’t know if the reports [about his health – BBC] are true.”
According to the Japanese weekly “Shukan Gendai,” the leader of North Korea recently underwent surgery and is now undergoing rehabilitation. According to the author of the article, “the chairman suddenly fell down” while inspecting one of the country’s regions, after which he was rushed to the nearest emergency room. Then, according to the newspaper, Kim Jong Un was transported to Pyongyang, where he underwent heart surgery. Late last week, news agencies reported that Chinese authorities had sent a group of doctors to Pyongyang, led by a high-ranking representative of the Chinese Communist Party leadership. It is unclear whether this visit was related to the coronavirus epidemic in North Korea or whether the doctors were sent to assist in the treatment of the country’s leader. Several media outlets in Hong Kong and South Korea have reported that Kim Jong Un has been in a “vegetative state” for the past week. These reports have not been confirmed, nor have reports that the North Korean leader is currently in the coastal city of Wonsan, where one of the government residences is located.