US, WASHINGTON (ORDO NEWS) — DPRK leader Kim Jong-un, rumors of health problems or even the death of which appeared in the media, most likely received some kind of injury that does not threaten his life, but interferes with appearing in public, we can talk about a newly injured ankle, said South Korean experts.
Messages about serious health problems with Kim Jong-un and even his death began to appear in the media due to the fact that he missed the most important commemoration ceremony of his grandfather Kim Il Sung in Kumsusan Palace on April 15, and did not appear at all in public since April 12.
However, the South Korean government unanimously claims that they still don’t see any specific trends in the DPRK. Congratulatory telegrams are sent on behalf of the senior leader to the leaders of foreign countries and orders are distributed, daily calls are made through the association’s ministry, and senior representatives of the DPRK’s Foreign Ministry continue working contacts both domestically and abroad. This is not very similar to the situation when the supreme commander of the country at death and has no obvious successor.
Mild injury
“I am inclined to believe that this is an injury that does not threaten his life. In North Korea, when the chairman of the State Committee for Defense, Kim Jong Il , there were often cases when important events were canceled or were held under an abbreviated program if the leader had health problems,” said in an interview with RIA Novosti, Professor of the University of North Korean Studies, Shin Hongdae.
However, Kim Jong Il, being in good health, participated in a public ceremony in memory of his father only three times in his 17 years in power. Kim Jong-un before this did not miss the ceremony even once. But he did not take part in the celebration of the founding of the TPK on October 10, 2014. Then later it turned out that he had an operation to remove a cyst from his ankle.
Director of the North Korean Research Center at Sejong Institute, Jong Sung-jang agrees that Kim Jong-un should have some kind of injury, but suggests that it occurred on April 14, when Kim Jong-un was present at the DPRK launches of cruise missiles, although this was not reported in the media.
“Given the political culture of the DPRK, celebrating the anniversary of the founding of the party or the birthday of Kim Il Sung is the most important rituals that demonstrate legitimacy,” Kim Jong-un, which can not be missed only if the leader has no health problems. I am almost sure that April 14 some incident happened in the morning, then cruise missile launches took place, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of Korea reported that they recognized “car number 1,” that is, transporting the country’s leader,” the expert said.
According to him, “this means that Kim Jong-un was at the test site.” “Whether something happened to his ankle, or he fell on the site of the launches and was wounded, the probability of such an incident is high. Therefore, North Korea, which was going to use these launches as a festive salute for Sun Day (Kim Il Sung’s birthday on April 15 – ed .), couldn’t even inform about them, and the central reporting meeting of the party, which was supposed to open on the same day, was not held for the first time, “the expert explains.
Ankle or heart?
According to Jung Song Zhang, the current situation is similar to what it was in 2014, when Kim Jong-un missed the reporting meeting due to an ankle injury, and does not necessarily mean some serious illness.
“When Kim Jong-un removed the cyst from the ankle, the doctors said that it could appear again at any time. As for heart problems, he has a family predisposition, so this can happen to him at any time. But the date is not April 12 It’s suitable, considering that rocket tests took place from the very morning of the 14th. It does not seem to be serious health problems, and rather it was an ankle than a heart. But, say, even if Kim Jong-un just fell and injured his face then it would be all the more difficult for him to appear in public. An ankle operation in 2014, the North Korean leader was probably plastering for some time and maybe used a crutch. Therefore, he appeared in the chronicle after he finally recovered, “summed up Jong Song Zhang.
The professor noted that if the injury is very slight, then Kim Jong-un will soon appear in public, but if he has put in a cast and this must be hidden, then some time will pass before the full recovery.
Where did Kim Jong-un go?
Initially, the South Korean publication Daily NK reported, citing a source in North Korea, that Kim Jong-un is currently undergoing treatment at his summer house in the Möhyangsan Mountains region, 100 kilometers northeast of Pyongyang after an operation related to the cardiovascular system.
The operation allegedly took place on April 12 in a nearby specialized hospital for senior management of the DPRK, where the best surgeons from the capital’s clinics were called.
Some Japanese and Chinese media went further and, citing anonymous sources, reported that the operation ended in a coma or the death of Kim Jong-un, a group of 50 Chinese doctors allegedly arrived to help North Korean doctors, but could no longer help.
At the same time, according to a South Korean television channel SBS, citing a government source, Kim Jong-un himself, presumably, has been at his favorite dacha near Wosan on the east coast for the past few days. The South Korean military discovered a special train for the DPRK leader in Wonsan , although the plane, usually used for the leader’s trips to Wonsan, remained in Pyongyang. This is also confirmed by experts of the American site North 38, which published satellite photographs of the resort area in Wonsan, which allegedly captured a train at a railway station reserved for use by the Kim family. The train was there from April 21 to 23.
Whether Kim Jong-un did the operation and whether his presence in Wonsan was an “escape” from the capital, where, as some media say, people with COVID-19 were found in his environment, no one can confirm. In turn, representatives of the US administration told South Korean correspondents for Channel A in Washington that they had “fixed it walking without support or using a wheelchair.” Therefore, their main version of the “loss” of Kim Jong-un is the prevention of the continuing threat to catch the coronavirus.
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