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CUT THE LACE: A Kim Jong-un costume marks a new fertilizer plant for the open. To her left, Kim Yo-jong’s sister. According to North Korean media, the photo was taken on May 1.
Rumors about the state of health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have been buzzing. Now the state media is releasing what they say are fresh images of a smiling and dressed leader.
According to South Korean Yonhap news agency, Kim Jong-un attended a ceremony on Thursday May 1 to commemorate the opening of the Sunchon phosphate fertilizer plant in Pyongan province.
This is his first public appearance in 20 days, writes Yonhap.
North Korea’s state news agency KCNA has released photos of a Kim Jong dress with no clothes cutting the lace that marks the factory opening. In another photo, he is smiling with officials who were on the trip.
The Reuters news agency writes that they have not been able to verify whether the images are real.
“He looks like always, he looks reasonably healthy and wholesome,” Paul Midford, an East Asian expert and professor at NTNU, told VG overnight.
– I’m not sure if we ever had reason to believe he was dead, but we certainly don’t have that now. North Korea has no history of pretending that its leader is alive if it is not, he adds.
SMILE: Kim Jong-un visited this fertilizer plant on May 1, according to North Korean state media. Photo: STR / KCNA VIA KNS
There have been rumors that the North Korean leader was seriously ill or dead. CNN reported earlier this week that Kim’s condition was critical after heart surgery, but has now apparently reappeared.
– This is interesting information. I also thought it was probably a planned absence, either for medical treatment or something else. There are some precedents for this; He was away from the public for a period last year and for four weeks in 2014, Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean studies at the University of Oslo, tells VG.
He believes the message that Kim Jong-un has visited the fertilizer factory is credible.
Korean expert on rumors: – It’s an exaggerated rumor game
Speculations about the health of the North Korean leader began when he did not attend the birthday of his late grandfather, North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, on April 15.
– Why did North Korea leave these rumors for so long, do you think?
All of these speculations in the foreign media mean nothing to ordinary North Koreans – they don’t get it. Therefore, the leader is not weakened internally in his own country by this, says Tikhonov.
Paul Milford at NTNU says that, in general, North Korea is not in the habit of commenting on speculation in foreign media. However, he understands that rumors about Kim Jong-un’s health could easily emerge.
– He left a long time ago, and the North Korean regime is very reserved. The only way we can know is through such messages and images in the media. It was also surprising that her grandfather’s birthday was missed. This is the most important day of the year in North Korea.
If Kim Jong-un had really died, the teacher believes North Korea had announced it relatively quickly.
– I would have quickly fixed it: he’s dead, this person will take over, this is the time of the funeral and so on. It would be important to anyone who possibly takes over to demonstrate that they are in control.
She had her sister with her
During the tour of the fertilizer plant, according to the images, Kim had his sister, Kim Yo-jong, the woman who was designated as a possible heir to the regime if Kim Jong-un had really been seriously ill.
North Korean experts tell VG that there may be many reasons why Kim went missing from the public. One possibility could be that he isolated himself for fear of the corona virus, while another could be that he simply went on vacation. He may also have been absent for other medical reasons.
“Grandpa’s birthday is important, so it was probably medical treatment of some kind,” Tikhonov believes.
