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Speculation about Kim’s health first arose due to his absence from the birthday anniversary of North Korea’s founding father and Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Image: AFP
SEOUL – North Korean state media did not mention leader Kim Jong Un’s health or whereabouts on Wednesday, a day after intense international speculation about his health was sparked by media reports that he was seriously sick after a cardiovascular procedure.
North Korean media portrayed a business image as usual, with routine reports of Kim’s accomplishments, posting his old or undated quotes on topics like the economy.
South Korean and Chinese officials and sources familiar with US intelligence have questioned reports from the South Korean and US media, while the White House said it was closely monitoring the matter.
United States President Donald Trump, who held unprecedented summits with Kim in 2018 and 2019 in an attempt to persuade him to give up his nuclear weapons, said the reports had not been confirmed and did not give them much credibility.
“I just hope it is okay,” Trump said at a White House press conference Tuesday. “I’ve had a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un. And I’d like to see him do it well. We’ll see how he does it. We don’t know if the reports are true.”
When asked if he would try to contact Kim to verify his condition, Trump said, “Well, I can, but I just hope he is doing well.”
Speculation about Kim’s health first arose due to his absence from the birthday anniversary of North Korea’s founding father and Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15.
On Wednesday, top KCNA headlines included pieces on sports teams, blackberry picking and a meeting in Bangladesh to study the ideology of “juche” or North Korea’s self-sufficiency. The official newspaper Rodong Sinmun published old or undated comments attributed to Kim in articles on the economy, the textile industry, the development of the city and other topics.
As usual, Kim’s name was plastered throughout the newspaper, but there were no reports of his whereabouts.
Daily NK, a Seoul-based website, reported Monday night that Kim, believed to be in her 36s, was hospitalized on April 12, hours before the cardiovascular procedure.
The English version of the story was corrected Tuesday by saying the report was based on a single, unidentified source in North Korea, not multiple as previously stated.
He said his health had deteriorated since August due to smoking, obesity and overwork, and he was now receiving treatment in a villa in the Mount Myohyang complex, north of the capital Pyongyang.
“EXTENDED SILENCE IS UNUSUAL”
CNN reported Tuesday that an unidentified US official said the United States was “monitoring intelligence” that Kim was in serious danger after the surgery.
However, two South Korean government officials rejected the CNN report, and the South Korean presidential Blue House said there were no unusual signs from North Korea. China, North Korea’s only important ally, also dismissed the reports.
Trump’s national security adviser Robert O’Brien told Fox News that the White House was monitoring the reports “very closely.”
“There is a lot of guesswork,” a senior Trump administration official said on condition of anonymity Tuesday night when asked if there was confirmation of the reports.
North Korean experts warned that the hard facts about Kim’s condition are elusive, but said his unprecedented absence from major celebrations for his grandfather’s birthday last week indicates that something could have gone wrong.
Thae Yong Ho, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to London who defected to South Korea in 2016, said the prolonged silence by state media is unusual because he has been quick to dispel questions about the status of his leadership.
“Whenever there is a controversy over (Kim), North Korea would take action within days to show that he is alive and well,” he said in a statement.
His absence from the April 15 anniversary cult, in particular, is “unprecedented,” Thae said.
Kim is a third generation hereditary leader who rules North Korea with an iron fist, coming to power after his father Kim Jong Il died in 2011 of a heart attack.
Reporting from within North Korea is notoriously difficult, especially on matters related to its leadership, given the strict controls on information. There have been false reports in the past about their leaders, but the fact that Kim does not have a clear successor means that any instability could present significant international risk.
Trump said he had asked Kim about the succession in the past, but declined to elaborate.
“The basic assumption would perhaps be that it would be someone in the family,” O’Brien said. “But once again, it is too early to talk about that because we just don’t know what condition President Kim is in and we will have to see how it develops.”
Without knowing details about Kim’s young children, analysts said Kim’s sister and loyalists could form a regency until a successor is old enough to take over.
In recent years, Kim launched a diplomatic offensive to promote himself as a world leader, holding three meetings with Trump, four with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and five with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Kim has sought to ease international sanctions against his country, but has refused to dismantle his nuclear weapons program, a constant demand from the United States.
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