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After CNN claimed that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was in critical condition after undergoing cardiovascular surgery last week, rumors about his current state of health have not stopped.
One of the media that has spoken on the matter ands TMZ, the same one that confirmed the death of Kobe Bryant, who this Saturday assured through his social networks that the political leader could be dead or in a coma after a failed heart operation. They are joined by Qin Feng, the Hong Kong deputy director of HKSTV, who also says that the North Korean had died.
“North Korean supreme leader / dictator Kim Jong-un reportedly died or is on his deathbed with no hope of recovery, according to media in China and Japan,” writes TMZ.
On April 15 Pyongyang marked the anniversary of the birth of the regime’s founder, Kim Il Sung, Kim’s grandfather, but Despite being by far the most important date on the annual calendar, Kim does not appear in any of the photographs disseminated by the official press.
Daily NK, a digital media outlet run primarily by North Korean defectors, claims that Kim underwent surgery in April for cardiovascular problems and is convalescing in a mansion in North Phyongan province. “Excessive smoking, obesity and fatigue prompted Kim’s urgent cardiovascular treatment,” he says, citing an unidentified North Korean source.
It’s not the first time
It is not the first time that Kim’s absence sparks all kinds of speculation.. In 2014, he was not seen for six weeks and subsequently reappeared with
a cane.
South Korean intelligence services quoted by the Yonhap agency said at the time that he had an operation to remove a cyst from his ankle. “No one knows what is going on in North Korea,” sums up Martyn Williams of the 38 North Institute, devoted to analyzing the political movements in that country.
“Kim Jong Il (father of the current leader) died several days before it was officially announced and took everyone by surprise “, he recalled in a tweet. “Kim Jong Un has been declared ‘disappeared’, but he always reappeared. Although it is true that his absence this week is more than notable,” he admitted.
North Korean news coverage is very complicated, especially when it comes to Kim’s private life, which is one of the regime’s best-kept secrets.
The South Korean Unification Ministry, which deals with inter-Korean issues, and the Defense Ministry declined to comment. China, diplomatic backing and main supplier of goods to North Korea, also did not want to delve into the issue.
Beijing Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Tuesday that he did not know the source of the information about Kim’s health. “China and North Korea are neighbors and friends connected by mountains and rivers,” he said simply. Most experts therefore appeal to prudence.
“For now there is no confirmation and it is too early to draw conclusions about his health,” said Ahn Chan-il, a deserter from the North who became a researcher in Seoul. He claims that a heart operation involves state-of-the-art medical equipment that only exists “in Pyongyang facilities.” It would be “unreasonable” to transport him to another location for the operation.
EL TIEMPO and AFP
