North Korean leader Kim Jong-un not coming out in public due to coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, believe US and South Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un not coming out in public due to coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, believe US and South Korea


Amid rising speculations over the well being of North Korean chief Kim Jong-un, South Korean and US officers have stated that Kim is lacking from public life as a result of he’s sheltering himself from the coronavirus pandemic.

Interestingly, North Korea claims it has but to determine a single case of COVID-19. 

South Korean unification minister, Kim Yeon-chul, stated that Kim determined to skip anniversary occasion as a precautionary measure in opposition to coronavirus. Kim didn’t attend a ceremony held on April 15 to mark the anniversary of the start 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 instructed a parliamentary listening to.

“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 added, stressing that studies claiming Kim had undergone coronary heart surgical procedure are “fake news”.

US officers additionally echoed related emotions saying that Kim had taken his non-public prepare to the east coast resort city of Wonsan to guard himself from coronavirus.

It could also be recalled that Kim was final seen in public on April 11 when he chaired a celebration politburo assembly. 

Jiro Ishimaru, who heads the Osaka-based Asia Press web site and operates a community of citizen journalists in North Korea, instructed Guardian that the affirmation of reports that Kim was in isolation would show that COVID-19 had unfold contained in the nation.

“I don’t think he is dead – if that was the case there would be a lot more identifiable movement,” Ishimaru instructed the Guardian. “One theory is that either he himself has the virus or people around him have it and he’s is sheltering.”

Here are another potential causes behind Kim’s absence from public life:

Recovering from surgical procedure

The Daily NK, a Seoul-based information outlet, earlier reported that Kim underwent a “cardiovascular surgical procedure” few days in the past and was recovering at a villa.

The report talked about that Kim was handled on the Hyangsan Medical Centre on the outskirts of Pyongyang. South Korean officers later stated that Kim was concerned in “normal activities” in a rural a part of the nation.

In ‘grave danger’ 

US information outlet CNN claimed the US was monitoring intelligence that recommended that the North Korean chief was in “grave danger” after surgical procedure. Bloomberg News reported that Kim was in crucial situation, however US officers had been not sure of his present standing.

Seeking consideration

South Korean politician Yoon Sang-hyun has claimed that Kim has deliberate the disappearance act as a means to attract consideration to the regime. Yoon speculated that Kim must come out in public very quickly to finish the continued debate about his grip on energy and potential successors.

“If he doesn’t, it’s a real big issue,” Mr Yoon instructed reporters on Monday, in response to the DongA Daily. “Kim is apparently not running the country as he would normally do now.”

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