South Korea says Kim Jong Un is 'alive and well' amid death, ill-health rumours
After several speculations about Kim Jong Un's death and ill-health, South Korean officials on Sunday confirmed that the North Korean leader is 'alive and well'. There were also reports that Un has set up his sister Kim Joy Young as his successor. Moon Chung-in who is South Korean President Moon Jae-in's top foreign policy advisor said: "Our government position is firm. Kim Jong Un is alive and well."
According to Moon, Kim has been staying in North Korea’s Wonsan area since April 13 and “no suspicious movements have so far been detected.”
North Korean state newspaper Rodong Sinmun also reported on Sunday that Kim sent thanks to workers who helped remodel the country’s city of Samjiyon. However, the authenticity of the report was not confirmed.
A train likely belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been parked at his compound on the country’s east coast since last week, satellite imagery showed on Sunday, amid speculation about his health that has been caused, in part, by a long period out of the public eye.
North Korea exerts extremely tight control on information about its leadership, making it virtually impossible for outsiders to find out what’s going on at those senior levels. Even South Korea’s main spy agency has a mixed record on confirming developments in North Korea. When Kim Jong Il died in December 2011, for instance, few outsiders knew it until it was reported by North Korea’s state media two days later.
It’s not the first time that Kim has vanished from the public eye, and past absences in state media dispatches have also triggered speculation about his health. In 2014, state media didn’t report any public activities for Kim for about six weeks, before he reappeared with a cane. South Korea’s spy agency said later that he had a cyst removed from his ankle.
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