• There are intense rumors afloat that the North Korean supremo, Kim Jong-un has a grave illness and he is unlikely to make it.
• Some have even stated that he is brain dead or has expired but North Korea has not yet released this news to the world media for obvious reasons.

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The US intelligence, as well as South Korean agencies, are trying their level best to gain news, about the leader but in vain! Why is it so difficult to extract news out of the country?

Rumors surrounding Kim Jong-un and his health

It is rumored that the supreme and autocratic leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un is gravely ill. CNN’s chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto stated that a, US official told him that Kim had undergone surgery on his heart and is now gravely ill.

The rumors probably erupted when on 15 April there was a public celebration for the birthday of his late grandfather. But Kim was not in attendance at this important event.

Breaking: The US is monitoring intelligence that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s health is in grave danger following a surgery, a US official with direct knowledge tells me.

— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) April 21, 2020

Kim’s last public appearance was on 11 April 2020 where he discussed coronavirus prevention. At this meeting, he also appointed his sister as an alternate member of the political bureau of the ruling Workers’ Party.

Daily NK reports on Kim’s health

Daily NK is a website that is run by North Korean defectors. It stated that Kim has been suffering from cardiovascular complications since August 2019. Of late, his health is on the downslide due to smoking, obesity, and overwork.

The website also claimed that the leader had a procedure on his heart on 12 April 2020. But there are also reports that he had after that sent greetings to Syrian President Bashar al Assad and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel.

Additionally, he had made arrangements to send special birthday meals for two North Korean officials and a new centenarian.

Besides these, there is no unusual movement or sudden serious emergency reaction from North Korea’s ruling party, military, or its cabinet.

There seems to be a normal engagement with Kim with state affairs. Sources state that Kim is residing at an unspecified location outside of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, with some close associates.

Why is information about North Korea so difficult?

There is a severe restriction on the leakage of any news related to its top leader in North Korea. The controls on information and its dissemination are tight.

Therefore, outside media and governments are unable to access any details of the leadership or his health. Kim has no clear successor and hence his death could lead to instability and also cause risk at the International level.

Many false reports had circulated on earlier occasions about Kim and his actions. South Korean presidential spokesman Kang Min-Seok stated:

“We have no information to confirm regarding rumors about Chairman Kim Jong-un’s health issue that have been reported by some media outlets,”

“Also, no unusual developments have been detected inside North Korea.”

US President Donald Trump told at a recent news conference:

“If he is in the kind of condition that the reports say … that would be very serious condition,”

“I just hope he’s doing fine. I’ve had a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un. And I’d like to see him do well. We’ll see how he does. We don’t know if the reports are true.”

Short Bio on Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un is the Chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) as well as the supreme leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), often referred to as North Korea. Kim is the world’s most youthful serving state leader. He is also the first North Korean supreme leader to have been born after the establishment of the country. He is an absolute dictator and is ruthless in his behavior. More bio…

Source: ABC Au