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KIM JONG UN. This photograph taken on May 1, 2020 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (2nd L) visiting the Suchon Phosphate Fertilizer Factory in South Pyongan Province, North Korea. KCNA photo via KNS / AFP
SEOUL, South Korea – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made his first public appearance since speculation about his health began last month, cutting the ribbon at the opening of a fertilizer factory, KCNA reported Saturday, May 2.
Kim attended the event on Friday in Sunchon, near the capital Pyongyang, after nearly 3 weeks of rumors that the nation’s nuclear-armed leader was seriously ill or possibly dead.
The North Korean leader had not made a public appearance since he chaired a meeting of the Workers’ Party politburo on April 11, and the next day state media reported that he had inspected fighter jets.
At Friday’s event, “all participants erupted in thunderous cheers of” Hooray! “When Kim appeared, the Korean Central News Agency reported.
He inspected the facilities and was “informed about production processes,” according to the report.
Kim “said with deep emotion” that his grandfather Kim Il Sung and his father Kim Jong Il “would be very happy if they heard the news that the modern phosphate fertilizer factory has been built,” he added.
Other senior officials, including her sister and close adviser, Kim Yo Jong, also attended. Photos from the ceremony were not immediately released.
Kim’s conjecture about his health had grown since his apparent absence at the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather, the founder of the North, the most important day in the country’s political calendar.
His absence triggered a series of unconfirmed reports about his condition, sparking global fears about the North’s nuclear arsenal, and about who would succeed Kim if he couldn’t lead.
A high-security adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in said less than a week ago that Kim was “alive and well”, downplaying rumors that he was sick or disabled.
The adviser, Moon Chung-in, told CNN that Kim had been staying in Wonsan, a resort town in eastern North Korea, since April 13, adding: “So far no suspicious movements have been detected. “
Rumors of poor health.
Daily NK, an online media outlet primarily run by North Korean defectors, reported that Kim was on treatment after a cardiovascular procedure last month.
Citing an unidentified source within the country, he said Kim, who is in his 30s, had needed urgent treatment due to smoking, obesity and fatigue.
Soon after, CNN reported that Washington was “monitoring intelligence” that Kim was “in grave danger” after undergoing surgery, citing an unnamed United States official.
United States President Donald Trump seemed to confirm that Kim was alive earlier this week.
On Friday, Trump declined to comment on Kim’s reported resurgence.
Kim’s previous absences from the public eye have sparked speculation about his health.
The North is extremely reserved, and doubly so about its leadership.
Kim’s father and predecessor had been dead for two days before someone outside the innermost circles of North Korea’s leadership was wiser.
In 2014, Kim Jong Un disappeared from sight for almost 6 weeks before reappearing with a cane.
Days later, the Southern spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle. – Rappler.com
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