North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is alive, South Korean intelligence have claimed, following days of rumours that he had died or in grave danger after a surgery.
Questions were raised about Kim’s well-being after he missed the celebration of his grandfather’s birthday on April 15.
Moon Chung-in, South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s main foreign policy adviser, told CNN “Our government position is firm. Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected.”
Kim had allegedly undergone a cardiovascular procedure, it was rumoured, which was due to “excessive smoking, obesity, and overwork” and he was supposedly “in grave danger”.
He is reportedly being looked after by a small medical team while recovering. Where, China had reportedly sent a team of doctors and officials to North Korea on April 23 to provide advice on Kim, but this development was also unconfirmed.
However, satellite images reportedly showed Kim’s personal train parked at a station near his luxury compound on the country’s eastern coast for several days.
Images reviewed by 38 North, a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project, showed that the train had been parked at the “leadership station” in Wonsan since at least April 21.
38 North said the 250m train was not present on April 15, but was seen on both April 21 and 23. The station is reserved for the use of the Kim family, it added.
“The train’s presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country’s eastern coast,” the 38 North report said.
Source : CNN