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2:05 am
Saturday April 25, 2020
China sent a team to North Korea, which includes medical experts, to advise on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, according to three people familiar with the situation, according to Reuters news agency.
The visit by Chinese doctors and officials comes amid conflicting reports about Kim’s health. Reuters has yet to determine what the Chinese team’s trip represents in terms of Kim’s health.
Two of the three people said a delegation led by a senior member of the Communist Party of China’s Department of International Communication left Beijing for North Korea on Thursday. This administration is the main Chinese body that deals with neighboring North Korea.
The sources declined to reveal his identity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
Reuters was unable to contact the administration to comment on this Friday night. The Chinese Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Friday night.
The Seoul-based Daily NK website reported last week that Kim was recovering after heart surgery on April 12. The website released the report, citing an unidentified source from North Korea.
South Korean government officials and a Chinese official in the communications department questioned subsequent reports that Kim was in serious condition after the surgery. South Korean officials said they had not detected any unusual activity in North Korea.
United States President Donald Trump on Thursday downplayed reports released last week that Kim’s condition was serious. “I think the report is not correct,” he told reporters, but declined to say if he was in contact with North Korean officials.
A South Korean source told Reuters on Friday that intelligence information indicated that Kim was alive and was likely to emerge soon. The source said that I have no comment on Kim’s current condition or any Chinese interference.
An official with knowledge of United States intelligence said Kim was known to have health problems but had no reason to conclude that he was seriously ill or could not reappear publicly at the end. A spokeswoman for the US State Department had no comment. “I have nothing I can tell you tonight, but the American people must know that we are following the situation very carefully,” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News when asked about Kim’s health.
