North Korea's "Supreme Comrade" has already been suffering from rapidly declining health, coupled with a massive COVID-19 emergency that the reclusive totalitarian state had kept the rest of the world in the dark since the beginning.
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www.nydailynews.com
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is reportedly undergoing treatment for a cardiovascular problem, and according to CNN, a surgery he just received did not go well. The head of the isolated country is in ‘grave danger,’ a U.S. official told the network on Monday night.
North Korea tightly controls all information about Kim Jong Un, making it a challenge to know the truth about the leader—especially when it comes to his health. Kim commands a cult of personality in his country, and gaining insight about his situation often amounts to scanning state media reports and propaganda videos for clues.
But speculation has run rampant around the 36-year-old Kim’s health in recent days. Reports out of South Korea claim that it has deteriorated over the past several months because of his heavy smoking habit, obesity, and overwork.
Kim was last seen in public at a government meeting on April 11, but fueled rumors about his condition when he did not make any kind of appearance on April 15. That date, a national holiday in North Korea, celebrates the birth of Kim’s grandfather and the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung.
In some cases, glaring absences from important events signify major developments in North Korea, such as when Kim Jong Il missed the country’s 60th anniversary celebration because of a stroke, which eventually led to his declining health and death in 2011. But other times, not showing up has turned out to mean nothing, and there has been no shortage of false rumors regarding Kim and his family.
The Ministry of Unification, a department of the South Korean government that aims to unify the two countries, said on Friday that it was “inappropriate” to speculate about Kim’s noticeable absence.
Kim has disappeared from the public eye for health reasons at least once before. Back in 2014, he wasn’t seen for over a month, and when he returned, he was using a cane. South Korea intelligence analysts later deduced that Kim had had a cyst removed from his ankle.
North Korea is currently facing a health crisis on a larger scale than just its leader, as it tries to protect itself against the coronavirus pandemic. The country has quarantined thousands and delayed the school year as precautionary measures, but claims to currently have zero infections. Experts have cast doubton those claims, however, particularly because North Korea shares a border with China, which is often crossed for smuggling purposes.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in ’grave danger’ after surgery
Kim’s health has deteriorated in recent months.
www.nydailynews.com
----------
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is reportedly undergoing treatment for a cardiovascular problem, and according to CNN, a surgery he just received did not go well. The head of the isolated country is in ‘grave danger,’ a U.S. official told the network on Monday night.
North Korea tightly controls all information about Kim Jong Un, making it a challenge to know the truth about the leader—especially when it comes to his health. Kim commands a cult of personality in his country, and gaining insight about his situation often amounts to scanning state media reports and propaganda videos for clues.
But speculation has run rampant around the 36-year-old Kim’s health in recent days. Reports out of South Korea claim that it has deteriorated over the past several months because of his heavy smoking habit, obesity, and overwork.
Kim was last seen in public at a government meeting on April 11, but fueled rumors about his condition when he did not make any kind of appearance on April 15. That date, a national holiday in North Korea, celebrates the birth of Kim’s grandfather and the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung.
In some cases, glaring absences from important events signify major developments in North Korea, such as when Kim Jong Il missed the country’s 60th anniversary celebration because of a stroke, which eventually led to his declining health and death in 2011. But other times, not showing up has turned out to mean nothing, and there has been no shortage of false rumors regarding Kim and his family.
The Ministry of Unification, a department of the South Korean government that aims to unify the two countries, said on Friday that it was “inappropriate” to speculate about Kim’s noticeable absence.
Kim has disappeared from the public eye for health reasons at least once before. Back in 2014, he wasn’t seen for over a month, and when he returned, he was using a cane. South Korea intelligence analysts later deduced that Kim had had a cyst removed from his ankle.
North Korea is currently facing a health crisis on a larger scale than just its leader, as it tries to protect itself against the coronavirus pandemic. The country has quarantined thousands and delayed the school year as precautionary measures, but claims to currently have zero infections. Experts have cast doubton those claims, however, particularly because North Korea shares a border with China, which is often crossed for smuggling purposes.
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