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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shake hands after signing the Panmunjom Declaration on Apr. 27, 2018. (Blue House photo pool)

The Blue House National Security Council (NSC) dismissed speculation about North Korean leader’s Kim Jong-un’s ill health on Apr. 23, commenting that it had “not observed any unusual trends within North Korea.”

“The standing committee members reviewed recent trends in North Korea and confirmed that there have been no unusual activities within North Korea at present,” the NSC said, explaining that Chung Eui-yong, NSC director, had presided over that day’s standing committee meeting. The remarks were emphatically dismissive of speculation that Kim is in poor health, as has recently been reported by some South Korean and overseas news outlets.

The standing committee members also said they planned to “work to ensure the continuation of human and material exchanges for the sake of humanitarian assistance and economic recovery by participating actively in solidarity and cooperation with the international community to respond to the novel coronavirus.” The committee also said it will “examine plans for the return of US military bases to South Korea following the relocation of Yongsan Garrison to Pyeongtaek. The committee plans to actively cooperate with the US to pursue procedures for returning a portion of Yongsan Garrison as well as other bases to South Korea within 2020 in accordance to the Land Partnership Plan.

By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter

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