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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States has not seen North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and is viewing reports on his health, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Wednesday, adding that there was a real risk of famine in the country. in the midst of the crisis. coronavirus outbreak.
North Korea’s media has not reported on Kim’s whereabouts since he chaired a meeting on April 11, prompting speculation about his health and raising concerns about instability in the country with nuclear weapons that could affect others. North Asian countries and the United States.
“We have not seen him. We have no information to report today, we are watching him closely,” Pompeo told Fox News after being asked about conflicting reports on Kim’s health.
Pompeo said the United States was also monitoring the situation more extensively in North Korea, which borders China, given the risk posed by the coronavirus.
“There is a real risk that there will be a famine, a food shortage, also within North Korea,” he added. “We are closely observing each of those things, as they have a real impact on our set of missions, which ultimately denuclearizes North Korea.”
Pompeo said in a subsequent State Department press conference that the United States would continue to focus on the denuclearization of North Korea, “regardless of what happens there.”
President Donald Trump met with Kim three times in 2018 and 2019 in an attempt to convince him to abandon a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States. While the talks have stalled, Trump has continued to greet Kim as a friend.
Pompeo did not elaborate on the risk of famine in North Korea, but a North Korean economic delegation was scheduled this week in Beijing to discuss food supplies and trade problems, as the coronavirus outbreak has severely disrupted the the country’s food supply, two people with direct knowledge of The situation told Reuters.
The impoverished and isolated North Korea is prone to food shortages. According to South Korean estimates, up to 1.1 million people died during the famines of the 1990s.
Officials in South Korea and the United States have said Kim could stay at a seaside resort to avoid exposure to the new coronavirus, and have expressed skepticism about media reports that she had some form of serious illness.
They caution, however, that Kim’s health and location are closely guarded secrets and that reliable information is difficult to obtain in North Korea.
(Reports by David Brunnstrom; additional reports by Jonathan Landay, edition by Jonathan Oatis)
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