North Korean elite ‘fear for Kim Jong-un’s health as even THEY don’t know where he is’ amid death claims
HIGH-ranking officials in North Korea fear 'Glorious Leader' Kim Jong-un is seriously ill as even they have no idea where he is, say reports from the region.
According to sources in Pyongyang many of the capital city's elite are increasingly concerned the chubby dictator is suffering from potentially deadly heart problems.
“High-level cadres along with donju (North Korea’s wealthy entrepreneurial class)... are finding (the disappearance) strange and are wondering if he has health problems,” a source in Pyongyang
“There’s now people thinking that it is due to a health problem and they are telling each other that they’ve heard he had received some kind of medical treatment.”
The Sun Online previously reported how a CIA analyst claimed it was impossible to know whether Kim Jong-un was dead or alive as even his inner circle are being kept in the dark
The Daily NK report claims many of the elite are guessing the disappearance may be due to a heart or historic joint-related ailment.
They point to the time Kim reappeared on a walking stick after he went missing for around 40 days in 2014 .
Over the past week there have been conflicting reports surrounding the portly dictator's health and whereabouts:
- A defector claimed Kim is alive but can't walk or stand up on is own
- 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' and hiding out from coronavirus
- 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'
- Rumours previously ran wild when he disappeared in 2014 - reportedly having suffered a bout of gout
It's also claimed powerful state officials believe if Kim had died - as some have reported - they would have been told by now.
"Officials really don’t know much about Kim’s health,” the source said. "But, some cadre family members and close friends are questioning why Kim’s doctors failed to properly take care of him."
Speculation over the welfare of the North Korean leader has been mounting for days but the rogue state has not broken its silence.
On Tuesday, 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.
The secretive way North Korea operates severely restricts the flow of information related to its top leaders and in particular Kim.
The US and China are desperately seeking to find the truth about claims the despot is either dead or in a vegetative state following botched heart surgery.
But Jung Pak, a former CIA expert, said even those within Kim's inner circle are deliberately deprived of information.
And those lucky enough to escape the secretive state back up the claims, reports
“It is not a situation that even North Korea’s high-ranking officials will be aware of, except (Mr Kim’s wife) Ri Sol -ju and his closest aides,” one high-profile defector was quoted as saying.
And it is not just those within the palaces of Pyongyang who have no idea what is true and what is not, say regional experts.
Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst who briefed presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama, said the US is also in the dark.
“Trust me, they [US officials] don’t know what’s going on,” said Ms Terry, now a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“It’s not only the Americans; it’s the rest of the world... there is a reason why no one knew for 48 hours (that former leader Kim Jong Il had died) and we found out only because the North Koreans decided to tell us.”
Meanwhile, South Korea's minister for North Korean affairs has said he believes Kim has not been seen because he is dodging the coronavirus.
He said there were at least two instances since mid-January where Kim went missing for nearly 20 days.
"I don’t think that’s particularly unusual given the current (coronavirus) situation," he added.
Suspicions over Kim's welfare were sparked when he was suspiciously absent from the national birthday celebrations of his late granddad Kim Il-sung, known as the Day of the Sun.
Chinese journalist Shijian Xingzou said a “very solid source” told her the North Korean leader had died.
She has 15 million followers on Chinese social media site Weibo, and she is also the niece of one of the the country's foreign ministers.
Separately, a Japanese media outlet claimed Kim was in a “vegetative state” after undergoing heart surgery.
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".
Pictures released by North Korea watchers 38North show what is believed to be Kim's private armoured train parked near the resort.
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North Korean defectors have also dismissed the ongoing rumours of Kim's death.
Joo Sung-ha, a defector turned journalist, said in a Facebook post reported by the it was reasonable to believe Kim had health problems.
However, he wrote he had zero trust in any of the reports as information about Kim's health is such a closely guarded secret.
It is speculated his sister Kim Yo-jong could be next in line after him if he was to be dead and reports claims she has already been named official successor.
