hankyoreh

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presides over a Workers’ Party of Korea politburo meeting in Pyongyang on Apr. 11. (Yonhap News)

Rumors about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un continue to swirl, with more than two weeks having passed since his last public appearance. The foreign press is keeping a sharp eye on developments, even reporting that the Chinese government sent a medical team to North Korea, but North Korea’s state-run media remains silent. The South Korean government thinks that Kim is alive and well, citing the lack of unusual signs from the North.

Despite the North Korean media’s extensive coverage of the 88th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Revolutionary Army (Apr. 25), the media hadn’t mentioned whether or not Kim was in attendance as of the afternoon of Apr. 26. The holiday, known as Military Foundation Day, commemorates the establishment of a unit of anti-Japanese partisans by North Korean founder Kim Il-sung in Manchuria on Apr. 25, 1932.

Apr. 25 used to be the day that the North celebrated the establishment of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) from 1978 until 2018, when it was called Army Day, but after Kim took power, that holiday was moved to Feb. 8, the day the KPA was actually founded in 1948.

Because Military Foundation Day isn’t as significant as it once was, experts advise against attaching too much significance to Kim’s absence at the event. Nevertheless, the rumors that are circulating about Kim’s health had focused on whether Kim would be present.

This isn’t the first time that Kim has ducked out of sight for a long period. Previous absences from the public eye include a 22-day period in May 2019 and a 41-day period in September and October of 2014. But on Apr. 15, Kim failed to pay his respects at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the anniversary of the birth of his grandfather Kim Il-sung, the most important holiday in North Korea. This was Kim’s first no-show at the event since coming to power, fueling speculation that he has a health issue.

Nevertheless, North Korean media continues to run routine reports about Kim’s activities without printing any photos or videos that would prove he’s in good health. On Apr. 26, the Korean Central Broadcasting Station, a North Korean radio station, reported that Kim Jong-un had “communicated his gratitude to the officials and workers who have sincerely dedicated themselves to the renovation of Samjiyon.”

In a related story, Japanese newspaper the Asahi Shimbun reported on Apr. 26 that China had dispatched a team of about 50 medical personnel from the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital (also known as 301 Hospital) in Beijing to North Korea on Apr. 23 or even earlier, quoting an official from China’s Communist Party of China’s 301 Hospital, the finest medical facility in China, has reportedly been in charge of providing healthcare and treatment for past leaders of the Communist Party.

But the Asahi Shimbun said it wasn’t clear whether this team of doctors had any connection with Kim’s health and noted the possibility that they’d been sent to help North Korea combat the coronavirus outbreak. Reuters also sounded a note of caution in an article the previous day about China sending a delegation to China that included medical staff: “Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim’s health.”

A satellite image of a train stopped at a station near a resort in Wonsan, North Korea where leader Kim Jong-un is speculated to be staying, released by the website 38 North. (provided by 39 North)

The American website 38 North, which focuses on North Korea analysis, reported on Apr. 25 that Kim Jong-un’s personal train has been parked at a station near Wonsan, Gangwon Province, since at least Apr. 21. After analyzing commercial satellite imagery, the website’s analysts said that the train “was not present on Apr. 15 but was present on both Apr. 21 and 23,” adding that “there was no indication when [. . .] departure might take place.” The analysts explained that this imagery “lend[s] weight to reports that Kim is staying [. . .] on the country’s eastern coast.”

The South Korean government has also reportedly determined that Kim is in Wonsan. “While it was odd that Kim Jong-un didn’t pay his respects at the birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung on Apr. 15, we’re not seeing any of the unusual signs or indications in North Korea that are typically seen when something happens to the supreme leader of the state. We believe that Kim’s authority is functioning as normal,” a government official told the Hankyoreh over the phone on Apr. 26.

“Kim Jong-un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since Apr. 13,” said Moon Chung-in, the South Korean president’s special advisor for unification, foreign affairs and national security, in an Apr. 26 interview with Fox News.

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer, Seo Young-ji, staff reporter, Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent, and Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]