New questions have emerged about the condition of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, with the Japanese defense minister suggesting that the latest round of saber rattling by the rebel regime may be due to his poor health and the spread of COVID-19 in the country, according to the reports.
In a briefing in English at the Japanese Foreign Correspondents Club in Tokyo on Thursday, Taro Kono spoke of the “strange” actions of the Hermit Kingdom amid mounting tensions on the Korean peninsula, NK News reported.
On Thursday, Pyongyang claimed that, faced with the “hostile policy” of the United States, it had no choice but to counter “nuclear with nuclear”, an announcement that occurred on the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.
Taking care to avoid attributing his comments to Japanese intelligence, Kono said he believed the country’s secret escalations could be “taking the attention of the people of North Korea away from Kim Jong Un’s health, or the poor harvest or the Bad economy”.
“We suspect, number one, that COVID-19 is also spreading across North Korea, and Kim Jong Un is trying to … no [be] infected with COVID-19, “he said, the South Korean-based outlet reported.” So sometimes it doesn’t come [out] in public.”
Kono continued: “Number two, we have some suspicions about his health. Third, last year’s harvest in North Korea was not entirely good, it was actually bad … North Korea’s economy is not doing well. “
The defense minister avoided answering a question about Kim’s health, saying he was “not authorized to discuss intelligence matters, even if he is. [an] intelligence problem or not. “
Kono attributed his view that the coronavirus may be spreading across North Korea to public information, according to NK News.
“The commander of the US forces in Korea also talked about it, he believes that COVID-19 is already inside North Korea,” said Kono. “I personally agree [with] his point of view. We just need to estimate how widely it is spreading. “
The defense minister’s comments come amid weeks of mounting tensions, culminating in Pyongyang’s recent demolition of a joint liaison office in Kaesong used for talks between the two Koreas.
Although enraged by activists’ plans to send pamphlets with messages against North Korea across the border, Pyongyang on Wednesday suspended plans for “military action” against the South.
Despite the latest speculation about Kim, the lone strongman looked jubilant when he participated in a politburo meeting of the ruling North Korean Workers’ Party earlier this month.
Rumors of his health swirled after he did not appear at a celebration dedicated to his late ruling grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15. North Korean state media later reported that he attended the opening ceremony of a fertilizer plant on May 1.
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