The absence of North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un had sparked speculation about his health. But Pyongyang remained silent. Now Kim Jong Un suddenly appears again, according to state media.
After weeks of speculation about his health, North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un has shown himself in public again for the first time. Kim opened the Suchon fertilizer factory on Friday, the North Korean news agency KCNA reported. The North Korean newspaper “Rodong Sinmun” published photos of the visit to the province of South Pyongan. In addition to Kim and other high-ranking representatives, you can also see Kim’s sister and close adviser, Kom Yo Jong.
Kim had attended the ceremony and all of the participants had “broken out into hooray calls,” KCNA said. Kim visited the factory and received information about the production processes. “With great excitement,” said Kim, that his grandfather Kim Il Sung and father Kim Jong Il were very excited about “the news that the modern phosphate fertilizer factory has been built.”
Weekly absence
Kim had not appeared in public since a meeting of the North Korean Workers’ Party political office on April 11. The fact that he had been absent from the celebrations in honor of his late grandfather, state founder Kim Il Sung, had sparked international speculation about his health. April 15 is the most important date of the year for the country’s political elite.
The “Daily NK” web portal, operated mainly by defectors from North Korea, reported that Kim had undergone urgent intervention in the cardiovascular system. “Excessive smoking, obesity and exhaustion” were the immediate reasons for the operation. South Korean President Moon Jae In’s security adviser said last Sunday that Kim was alive and well. Kim has been in the resort town of Wonsan in eastern North Korea for two weeks. South Korea has found no “suspicious movement” in North Korea.
