North Korea fires shots at South Korea guard post to show Kim Jong-un’s ‘healthy and still in power’, expert claims
NORTH Korean troops fired shots towards a South Korean guard post on the border to show Kim Jong-un is still the boss, a regional expert has claimed.
According to the South Korean military, troops from the rogue state fired several bullets at a military post inside the fortified border between the two countries.
South Korea then fired two rounds in response, officials said, with no casualties reported on either side.
Choi Kang, of the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, said he believed the shootout may have been timed to show Kim is still in charge,
"Yesterday, Kim was trying to show he is perfectly healthy, and today, Kim is trying to mute all kinds of speculation that he may not have full control over the military," he said.
"Rather than going all the way by firing missiles and supervising a missile launch, Kim could be reminding us, 'yes I'm healthy and I'm still in power'."
The armed exchange came along the heavily militarized border which has divided the peninsula since the Korea War.
Officials in Seoul said they were now speaking to their counterparts in Pyongyang to prevent an escalation.
Sunday’s incident came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was spotted for the first time in public in 20 days amid speculation about his health.
And as an expert said Kim Jong-un could unleash a wave of gruesome public executions in a bid to crush dissent after rumours about his death circulated.
The North Korean despot is also said to be poised to issue a fresh spate of nuclear threats against the West to re-establish his credibility after he was mysteriously missing for weeks.
Rumours about his death first circulated when Kim failed to appear for celebrations marking the birth of his grandfather Kim Il-sung on April 15, a key date in the country’s calendar.
But the country’s state-controlled news agency KCNA reported on Friday that Kim cut the ribbon at the opening of a fertiliser factory.
Now North Korean experts fear Kim will usher in a spate of killings as a way of sweeping away Pyongyang’s old-guard and to cement his own position.
The tyrant previously ordered his 67-year-old uncle to be murdered along with several loyal officers and imprisoned 200 officials for alleged treachery in a brutal purge.
Deputy Dean at the University of Essex Professor Natasha Lindstaedt told : “He’s always had this very vindictive pattern of showing his strength by killing people. It sends a clear message.
I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!
Donald Trump
“The military has to keep him happy. The smallest thing is perceived as disloyalty.
“I think he may have sheltered from coronavirus and any fear of a coup plot would mean he’d come back with a vengeance.”
On Saturday, President Donald Trump said he is "glad to see" Kim Jong-un is doing "well" after the despot had vanished for several weeks.
Trump appeared to confirm that the 36-year-old North Korean leader is alive a day after photos of Kim were publicised.
In a Saturday evening tweet, : "I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!"
Along with his tweet were opening on May 1, according to North Korean media.
The pictures marked the despot's first public outing in 20 days amid rumours he had died.
Kim vanished from public life nearly three weeks ago sparking reports he had an operation that went wrong or was injured in military missile tests.
Pictures on state media claimed to show the dictator attending the completion ceremony of Suncheon Fertilizer Plant.
Speculation over the welfare of the North Korean leader has been mounting for days but the rogue state has not broken its silence.
Concern over his health began when he failed to appear at an important celebration on April 15, to mark the birthday of Kim Il-sung, his grandfather and the founder of the country.
And a recent viral image that supposedly showed Kim Jong-un dead in a glass coffin set off the rumours again.
The image - likely a doctored photo from his father's 2011 funeral - appears to show Kim lying in state beneath a red blanket with his head on a pillow.
There were also claims that he may have been seriously injured during one of his military's controversial missile tests.
But in an effort to contradict the whispers of his death a state-run newspaper reported Kim sent a personal letter to builders working on a tourism project in Wonsan.
The rumours surrounding his health:
- Initial reports from South Korea claimed Kim was in a vegetative state after suffering a heart attack
- However a North Korean defector claims the tyrant was in fact injured during a missile test
- South Korea later insisted he is in fact 'alive and well'
- In the West a top US Senator claimed Kim was ‘likely dead or incapacitated’
- But President Trump dismissed dismissed the report calling it 'fake news'
- Rumors previously ran wild when Kim disappeared for a month in 2014 - reportedly having suffered a bout of gout
Continuing the rumours, a Chinese journalist Shijian Xingzou said a “very solid source” told her the North Korean leader had died.
Separately, a Japanese media outlet claimed Kim was in a “vegetative state” after undergoing heart surgery.
While Ji Seong-ho, a North Korean defector turned South Korean politician, said he had been told Kim died last week and the secretive country will reveal his passing in the coming days.
He told Yonhap News Agency: "I've wondered how long he could have endured after cardiovascular surgery. I've been informed that Kim died last weekend.
"It is not 100 per cent certain, but I can say the possibility is 99 per cent. North Korea is believed to be grappling with a complicated succession issue."
The pictures of Kim came as:
- Kim Jong-un’s
- How Kim's formidable
- Video claiming Kim Jong-un
Last week, China reportedly to North Korea to check on the leader's health.
However South Korean president Moon Jae-in's foreign policy advisor Chung-in Moon has said they believe Kim has been staying in Wonsan since April 13 - with "no suspicious movements".
South Korea's minister for North Korean affairs said he believed Kim has not been seen because he is dodging the coronavirus.
Kim Yeon-chul said at a parliamentary hearing: "It is true that he had never missed the anniversary for Kim Il-sung’s birthday since he took power, but many anniversary events including celebrations and a banquet had been cancelled because of coronavirus concerns."
He said there were at least two instances since mid-January where Kim went missing for nearly 20 days.
'VIRUS WORRIES'
He added: "I don’t think that’s particularly unusual given the current (coronavirus) situation."
This is not the time the 36-year-old has disappeared from public view - in 2014, Kim went missing for more than a month, only to reappear on state TV walking with a limp.
Yesterday Donald Trump suggested he knew what had happened to Kim, hinting he was unwell as he said he hoped "everything will be fine".
The president said: “Kim Jong-un? I can’t tell you exactly. Yes, I do have a very good idea, but I can’t talk about it now.
“I just wish him well.”
A former CIA analyst revealed even the chosen few normally allowed to get close to Kim probably have no idea where he is, let alone whether he has died.
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The secretive way North Korea operates severely restricts the flow of information related to its top leaders - especially Kim.
Meanwhile, experts claim Kim appeared to have a on his wrist in new footage - which suggests he's had heart surgery.
Video footage of Kim's visit to the factory in Suncheon seemed to show a small wound on his right wrist – a mark which was not present on his previous public appearance on April 11.
