South Korea downplayed reports on Tuesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had recently been operated on, while observers question his absence during celebrations in Pyongyang last week. North Korea celebrated the 108th anniversary of the birth of the regime’s founder, Kim Il Sung, who is the grandfather of the current leader, on April 15. This date is by far the most important on the political calendar in the North. But Kim Jong Un was not seen in any of the photographs released by the official press.
Daily NK, an online media outlet run mainly by defected North Koreans, claimed that the North Korean leader had been operated on in April for cardiovascular problems, and that he was recuperating in a villa in the North Phyongan province.
“The reason for Kim’s urgent cardiovascular treatment was excessive smoking, obesity and fatigue,” said Daily NK, citing an unidentified North Korean source.
This information has not been confirmed. But it sparked a flood of speculation.
Quoting an American official, CNN for its part reports that Washington “is studying information” according to which Kim Jong Un is “in serious danger after a surgical operation”, without saying whether this “information” is in fact the article by Daily NK.
“We have nothing to confirm and no particular movement has been detected in North Korea,” said a spokesperson for the Blue House, the South Korean presidency, in a statement. Some South Korean officials, however, have expressed doubts about the credibility of the Daily NK reports.
The coverage of North Korean news is particularly complicated, especially with regard to Mr. Kim’s private life, which is one of the regime’s best kept secrets.
The South Korean Ministry of Unification, which manages inter-Korean issues, and the Ministry of Defense declined to comment.
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