Kim Jong-un may be in ‘grave danger’ after cardiovascular surgical procedure, reports say
- Comments by a US official have fuelled speculation about the North Korean leader’s health but South Korean and Chinese sources have cast doubts over talk he is gravely ill
- Experts say that if Kim were incapacitated, the duties of supreme leader would be carried out by his sister, Kim Yo-jong
The US was monitoring intelligence reports that Kim may be in “grave danger after a surgery,” CNN reported, citing a US official with direct knowledge of the matter. The White House declined to comment on the CNN report while South Korean officials suggested that it was “not true” that Kim was seriously ill.
Presidential Blue House spokesman Kang Min-suk said no “unusual movements in the North are being detected” while the Yonhap news agency, quoting an unidentified government sources said “Chairman Kim is currently staying in the countryside with his close aides.”
“Neither the party, nor the military, nor the government shows any unusual movements such as raising an emergency alarm ... it seems that Chairman Kim is working normally,” the source added.
Chinese sources also cast doubt on the report, with an official at the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department, which deals with North Korea, telling Reuters the source did not believe Kim was critically ill.