Kim Jong-un illness claims denied following heart surgery reports
China and South Korea have played down speculation about Kim Jong-un’s health after media reports suggested the North Korean leader was “gravely ill” following heart surgery.
South Korean online news site NK Daily reported that Kim underwent a cardiovascular procedure on 12 April as a result of “excessive smoking, obesity, and overwork”.
A CNN report earlier today cited an anonymous US intelligence source saying Washington was monitoring claims that he was critically ill.
But a spokesperson at the presidential Blue House in Seoul said no unusual activity had been detected inside the reclusive state, while news agency Yonhap said Kim was not seriously ill, citing a government official.
An official in the Chinese communist party’s international liaison department told Reuters there was no reason to believe the leader was seriously ill.
Speculation has been mounting since Kim failed to attend celebrations honouring his grandfather Kim Il Sung on 15 April.
Local media reported that the diminutive dictator underwent surgery at Hyangsan hospital — a private facility for use by the Kim family — and is recuperating at a villa outside Pyongyang.
While Kim’s absence from the celebrations — reportedly the first time he failed to attend the ceremony since gaining power in 2012 — sparked speculation about ill health, some observers also speculated he was limiting attendance at public events due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is not the first time Kim has sparked speculation by failing to appear in public for a prolonged period.
In 2014 the so-called supreme leader disappeared for 40 days, before reappearing with a walking stick.
State media at the time said Kim was suffering from an “uncomfortable physical condition” but did not comment on reports he was suffering from attacks of gout.