North Korea remains silent on Kim Jong-un’s health fuelling speculation over ‘heart surgery’ reports
SECRETIVE North Korea is staying silent amid claims Kim Jong-un is fighting for his life after having an emergency heart operation.
State media presented a business-as-usual image carrying routine reports of Kim's achievements and publishing his older or undated quotes on issues like the economy.
As usual Kim's name was plastered all over the state newspaper Rodong Sinmun but there was no actual information on his whereabouts fuelling the reports he is gravely ill.
However, it did claim he had sent birthday gifts to prominent citizens without saying when.
Today, the main headlines from the official news outlet KCNA included pieces on the development of sports equipment and fruit picking.
Those monitoring North Korea from outside its borders have found it impossible to get to the bottom of the health claims.
Reporting on Kim's kingdom is notoriously difficult given the strict controls on the release of information.
DEAD OR ALIVE?
On Tuesday it had been claimed it was not known if Kim was "dead or alive" following the apparent surgery.
One senior White House reporter reported she had been told Trump officials were already looking into who would be in line for succession.
However, both South Korea and China later said they believed reports he was in "grave danger" were unfounded.
“We have no information to confirm regarding rumors about Chairman Kim Jong-un’s health issue that have been reported,” South Korean presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok said.
“Also, no unusual developments have been detected inside North Korea.”
North Korea's supreme leader, 36, missed the celebration of his grandfather Kim Il-sung's birthday on April 15, first sparking speculation about his health and was last seen on April 11.
It has been claimed he is currently recovering at a villa in the resort town of Hyangsan after undergoing a "cardiovascular surgical procedure" on April 12.
Kim's health had deteriorated in recent months due to heavy smoking, obesity, and overwork, according to reports from the region.
Last night Donald following reports of the leader's dire health.
Speaking at a press conference, Trump said: "I’ve had a very good relationship with him.
";I can only say this, I wish him well, because if he is in the kind of condition that the reports say, that the news is saying, that’s a very serious condition, as you know.
"I've said it and I’ve said it many times. If somebody else were in this position, we would’ve been right now at war with North Korea."
The president also used the topic to hit out at CNN, saying that the reports had "not been confirmed," and that he had seen the news on the network by did not give it much credence.
He added: "But it sounds very serious.
"I just hope he's doing fine. I've had a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un.
"I'd like to see him well. I don't know if the reports are true."
If reports are proven to be true, the future of the nuclear state hangs in the balance, as Kim has seemingly not declared a successor.
One of those tipped to take over at the helm is Kim's own power-hungry sister Kim Yo-jong.
Trump and Kim have shared a positive relationship following early tensions over North Korea's nuclear capabilities.
In June 2019, Trump became the first sitting US president to step into North Korea, crossing the 1953 armistice line separating North and South Korea for a meeting with Kim.
However regional experts believe the rogue state's hardline stance and its nuke programme will go on - even without 'Rocket Man' Kim.
Robin Kelly, a professor at Pusan National University, : “I would be surprised if you didn’t have another hardliner who more or less kept North Korea as it is, so I’m not sure that North Korea would suddenly implode.
“We need to kind of accept that North Korea is reasonably stable and will be with us for awhile.”
MOST READ IN NEWS
Others agreed life will go on pretty much as usual in the hermit kingdom.
Cheong Seong-chang, of the Sejong Institute’s Center for North Korean Studies, said: “It is the outside world’s wishful thinking that North Korea’s ruling system will collapse if another Kim passes away.
“With the broader leadership of the regime sharing the same interests with the Kim family, a prolonged leadership vacuum is highly unlikely.”