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China’s main ally sent a team that included doctors to North Korea to verify their leader Kim Jong-un following reports last week that the 36-year-old man was seriously ill.
The delegation is led by a senior member of the Communist Party of China’s (CCP) international liaison department and left Beijing for Pyongyang on Thursday, a Reuters report said on Saturday.
The visit is slated to spark further speculation about the health of Kim Jong-un, who is said to be a heavy smoker, appears to be overweight, and has a history of cardiovascular problems in the family.
China has not yet confirmed the visit.
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Beijing is Pyongyang’s main ally and economic benefactor, President Xi Jinping has met with Kim several times in recent years, including during his first state visit to North Korea in 2019 after more than a decade.
Kim, according to previous reports, was “noticeably absent” from the April 15 birthday celebrations of his grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung.
He has not been seen in public since a meeting on April 11, fueling speculation about his health.
The Korean central state news agency reported that Kim sent a message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday.
In North Korea, the health of its leaders is treated as a matter of state security.
According to the Reuter report, when Kim’s father Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke in 2008, Chinese doctors participated in his treatment along with French doctors.
US media previously reported that Kim had undergone a cardiovascular procedure, and CNN quoted a US official with direct knowledge of the matter as saying that Washington was “monitoring intelligence” that Kim was in serious danger after surgery.
On Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was aware of reports on the health of the North Korean leader, but said it does not know its source, without commenting if it has any information on the situation.
Spokesman Geng Shuang made the comments during the identification without giving further details during the daily briefing.
