Speculation gets wilder over North Korean leader's health

2024-05-21 12:00:53      点击：998

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks during his last public appearance at a ruling Workers' Party meeting in Pyongyang, April 11. Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo


Speculation is rampant over North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's health, as the reclusive state remains mum over a recent CNN report that he is in critical condition after surgery.

Based on commercial satellite imagery, the American North Korea-monitoring website 38 North said Saturday a train possibly belonging to Kim has been stationary at the country's eastern coastal city of Wonsan since at least April 21.

"The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's eastern coast," 38 North said.

A South Korean government official voiced a similar view, saying, "Our finding shows Kim has been staying in Wonsan after leaving Pyongyang where he presided over a ruling Workers' Party meeting on April 11."

"It is our understanding that Kim, accompanied by his aides, has been carrying out various activities," the official said.

Some social media users still suggest Kim may be in grave condition, amid a flux of international media reports that about 50 Chinese doctors were dispatched to the North Korea.

Citing a Chinese communist party official, Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported Sunday the dispatch may be linked to Beijing-Pyongyang cooperation on COVID-19 crisis.

The newspaper said sending 50 doctors may be too much if it was only to offer medical support for Kim.

But Shukan Gendai, a Japanese weekly magazine, speculated differently.

On Saturday, it said Kim collapsed while visiting a rural town and went into a vegetative state after his team of doctors was unsuccessful in stent placement.

"A train belonging to Kim does not mean it is carrying Kim all the time," a YouTuber user with the ID Joe Jung posted on a South Korean news clip citing 38 North. "It makes more sense to say that Kim's health is at serious risk."

The Chinese government has not made any response.

Meanwhile, unverified and presumably false reports were posted online, Sunday, that Kim had died.

A clip shows what appears to be a fake front page of a non-existent North Korean newspaper.

It refers to Kim by an incorrect title, calling him chairman of the National Defense Commission, not the chairman of the State Affairs Commission.

Against this backdrop, Pyongyang's state-controlled media has been making mention of Kim's activities but without showing related footage or photos of him.

For instance, the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee reported Sunday that Kim sent a message of appreciation for the construction workers of an envisioned business district in Samjiyon.

Located in Ryanggang Province, North Korea, Samjiyon is near Mount Paektu, which holds significance in Korean mythology.