Death Rumours: Kim Jong-un Sheltering From COVID-19 Pandemic – US, South Korea
North Korean Leader, Kim Jong-un is not ill and could be officially sheltering from the coronavirus pandemic, according to claims by South Korean and United States senior officials
In the latest possible explanation for Jong-un’s recent absence from public life, officials from both countries claimed that his remaining incommunicado may be part of precautionary measures for fear of being infected by the deadly virus
North Korea insists it has yet to identify a single case of COVID-19, despite sharing a border with China, where the outbreak is believed to have started.
Despite recent reports claiming that Kim had missed a key anniversary event after undergoing heart surgery, the South Korean Unification Minister, Kim Yeon-chul, said it was reasonable to assume that he had decided not to attend as a precaution.
Kim was absent from an April 15, 2020 ceremony to mark the anniversary of the birth of his grandfather and North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung.
“We have intelligence capacity that allows us to say confidently that there are no unusual signs [in North Korea],” Kim Yeon-chul told a parliamentary hearing.
“We have intelligence capacity that allows us to say confidently that there are no unusual signs [in North Korea],” Kim Yeon-chul told a parliamentary hearing.
“He had not missed the anniversary … since taking power, but many anniversary events, including celebrations and a banquet, have been cancelled because of coronavirus concerns.
“I don’t think that’s particularly unusual given the current situation,” he said, describing reports that Kim had undergone heart surgery as “fake news”.
US officials told Reuters they believed Kim had taken his private train to the east coast resort town of Wonsan to shelter from the virus.
Kim Yeon-chul noted that there had been at least two instances since mid-January when Kim had not been seen in public for almost three weeks.
The North Korean leader was last seen in public on 11 April when he presided over a party politburo meeting. State media have not published a single photograph of Kim since, but they have carried reports of his daily routine, including diplomatic messages sent to other world leaders.
Speculation that Kim was staying in Wonsan grew over the weekend after the Washington-based North Korea monitoring project 38 North said it had analysed satellite images showing his special train parked at the local station.
On Tuesday, the NK News website said leisure boats often used by Kim had been active in the area throughout this month.
North Korea sealed its border with China in the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, quarantined thousands of people and scaled down public events.
Observers are sceptical, though, of the regime’s claims that the country is free of the virus.
Edwin Salvador, the World Health Organization {WHO)’s representative to North Korea, said last week that the country reported that it tested 740 people for Covid-19 as of April 17, but that all of them were negative.
The North said it had so far released more than 25,000 people from quarantine since late December, according to Salvador. – The Guardian
