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Where is Kim Jong-un? North Korean leader "in critical condition"

According to American and South Korean media, the North Korean leader is "in a critical condition". Kim Jong-un has not appeared in public for the past 10 days. It would not be a coronavirus infection, but a heart condition. South Korean officials are unable to confirm the reports for the time being.



Kim Jong-un was a major absentee at the celebration of Kim Il-sung, the founder of North Korea, on April 15. It is the first time that Kim missed his grandfather's highly symbolic birthday party. A day earlier, he was also not present at the launch of some short-range missiles, however one of his favorite activities.

There is a good reason for this, according to CNN: Kim would be in critical condition after surgery. The South Korean website Daily NK, which closely follows events on the other side of the border, talked about heart surgery. The health of the 36-year-old leader is said to have deteriorated sharply since this summer due to his tobacco addiction and obesity.

But South Korean government sources doubt the North Korean leader is in a critical condition. According to South Korean officials, there is no evidence that anything unusual is going on in North Korea. A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry was also unable to confirm the reports.

Corona or no corona?
Meanwhile, there is also much speculation about how badly the coronavirus strikes in North Korea. Until last weekend, the Pyongyang regime insisted that there was no contamination in the country. At the end of January, North Korea closed its borders and introduced strict quarantine measures. But the border with China in particular remained porous because of the profitable smuggling trade.

But last Sunday, citizens within North Korea were told that contamination had indeed been detected, both in the capital Pyongyang and in the north and south of the country. They were told that during public lectures. Rumors had previously circulated that soldiers and prisoners had died of "lung disease".

It is not the first time that leader Kim Jong-un has disappeared from sight for a while. In 2014 he was lost for no less than 40 days. Then rumors spread that he had been put aside by a military coup. But even then the North Korean leader apparently had health problems.

vrt