Kim Jong-un’s disappearance from the public eye has raised speculation about the North Korean leader’s health as well as who would take over should anything happen to him. Here is what we know — and don’t know — about Kim’s health.
Kim Jong-un’s disappearance from the public eye has raised speculation about the North Korean leader’s health as well as who would take over should anything happen to him.
North Korea is one of the world’s most isolated and secretive countries, and the health of its leaders is treated as a matter of state security. Reuters has not been able to independently confirm any details on Kim’s whereabouts or condition.
Kim, believed to be 36, has disappeared from coverage in North Korean state media before. In 2014, he vanished for more than a month and North Korean state TV later showed him walking with a limp. Speculation about his health has been fanned by his heavy smoking, apparent weight gain since taking power and family history of cardiovascular problems.
Here is what we know — and don’t know — about Kim’s health:
When was Kim last seen?
North Korea’s state media last reported on Kim’s whereabouts when he presided over a meeting on April 11. According to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency, he discussed coronavirus prevention at the meeting and elected his sister, Kim Yo-jong, as an alternate member of the political bureau of the ruling Workers’ Party.
Questions about Kim Jong-un’s health flared after he skipped an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his late grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il-sung. Kim hadn’t missed the event since inheriting power from his father, Kim Jong-il, in late 2011.
Report of heart procedure
Daily NK, a Seoul-based website, reported on Monday that Kim Jong-un was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure on April 12. It cited one unnamed source in North Korea.
A special train possibly belonging to Kim was spotted this week at Wonsan, a North Korean resort town, according to satellite images reviewed by a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project.
Kim’s health has deteriorated in recent months due to heavy smoking, obesity and overwork, a Daily NK report from Wednesday said.
“My understanding is that he had been struggling [with cardiovascular problems] since last August, but it worsened after repeated visits to Mount Paektu,” a source was quoted as saying, referring to the country’s sacred mountain.
Kim left for the hospital after presiding over the April 11 meeting, the report said.
Any comment from North Korea?
The state-controlled media in North Korea has been silent on Kim’s whereabouts, while Sou