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Speculation about Kim Jong Un’s health escalated over the weekend after tantalizing, but unverified, reports of a visit by a Chinese medical team and movements of the North Korean leader’s armored train.
China sent a team that includes senior doctors and diplomats to advise its neighbor and longtime ally, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, a train resembling one long used by North Korean rulers was parked last week near a coastal leadership complex in Wonsan, according to a satellite image analysis released Sunday by the 38 North website. A prominent South Korean adviser also rejected the idea that Kim was sick or dead.
“Our position in government is firm,” Moon Chung-in, foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told CNN. “It has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13” without detecting “suspicious movements.”
The latest developments shed little immediate light on the 36-year-old ruler, whom US officials said they were told was in critical condition after cardiovascular surgery. Kim, a heavy smoker who has gained considerable weight since taking power in 2011, has not appeared in state media for two weeks, and missed the April 15 birthday celebrations for the first time by his late grandfather, the state founder Kim Il Sung. .
The episode renews long-standing questions about the stability of a regime based on iron-fisted authority and a cult of personality for Kim, who has no known successor. Health problems have been a common occurrence throughout the years, and the leader’s medical condition is a closely guarded topic in one of the world’s most secret states.
Any change of leadership in North Korea could increase the threat of instability on the Chinese border and raise doubts about the control of the country’s expanding nuclear arsenal. Kim has also been central to the hitherto unsuccessful efforts of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, to get him to reduce his weapons arsenal.
The mystery sent journalists, diplomats, and nonproliferation experts looking for satellite images, state media, and unverified social media sources looking for clues about Kim. The hashtag #kimjongundead was a top trending topic on Twitter on Saturday. His younger sister Kim Yo Jong’s name, a potential successor, was also trending in the US. USA
“The information about our Marshal Kim Jong Un’s serious health condition is false and malicious,” the head of the Korean Friendship Association, Alejandro Cao de Benos, said in a tweet on Saturday. Cao, who appeared in the 2015 documentary “The Propaganda Game,” did not say where he got the information from and declined to comment further when Bloomberg News contacted him.
Kim similarly disappeared from state media for six weeks in 2014, sparking speculation that he had been shelved for gout, an ankle injury, or even was overthrown in a hit. He subsequently appeared walking with a cane during a visit to a new residential block.
A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department, which manages relations with North Korea, left Beijing on Thursday, Reuters said, adding that it could not immediately determine what the trip said. about Kim’s health. Officials from the United States National Security Council declined to comment Saturday.
Speculation about Kim’s condition accelerated after Seoul-based news site Daily NK reported on April 20 that the North Korean leader was recovering from surgery, citing an unidentified person inside the country. CNN reported shortly afterward that Kim was in “grave danger.”
Since then, Trump said he believed the CNN report was “incorrect” and said he heard that “they used old documents.” South Korean officials repeatedly said last week that they believed Kim was carrying out “normal activities” in a rural area of the country assisted by close aides, and that they did not detect unusual movements by the regime.
The presence of Kim’s train in Wonsan, some 230 kilometers (143 miles) east of Pyongyang, potentially fits the South Korean count. The area has received great interest from Kim in recent years, with an expanding leadership complex, major tourism development project, and numerous weapons tests.
The train, which Kim took to his failed summit with Trump in Hanoi, arrived at a nearby railway station on or before April 21, 38 North wrote, citing satellite imagery. The train was seen again at the station on April 23, and appeared to be repositioned to depart.
North Korea’s east coast experienced an explosion of military activity on April 14, including testing of cruise missiles and fighter jet maneuvers, which at the time appeared to be slated to coincide with South Korea’s parliamentary elections. The following day, Kim was absent from the events marking her grandfather’s birthday, known as Sun Day and North Korea’s most important political holiday.
Although state media continued to publish messages exchanged between Kim and dignitaries, such as a letter sent to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Wednesday, the reports did not include fresh images and did not mention new events the leader attended. Kim was also absent from Saturday’s events marking the anniversary of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army, although she did not attend the events last year either.
