China sends doctors to North Korea as TV report fuels speculation on Kim Jong Un's health
China has sent a team of doctors to North Korea to help determine supreme leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un's health status, Reuters reported on Friday. Hong Kong Satellite Television reported that Kim was dead, though there has been no confirmation from U.S. sources at this point.
"While the US continues to monitor reports surrounding the health of the North Korean Supreme Leader, at this time, there is no confirmation from official channels that Kim Jong-un is deceased," a senior Pentagon official not authorized to speak on the record told."North Korean military readiness remains within historical norms and there is no further evidence to suggest a significant change in defensive posturing or national level leadership changes.
Kim's last confirmed public appearance was on April 11, at a politburo meeting, though state media also shared footage of him attending aerial assault drills the following day. It was his absence from April 15 Day of the Sun celebrations dedicated to his grandfather, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, that first sparked speculation regarding his well-being.
These rumors were subsequently discounted by U.S. intelligence, with two U.S. officials telling Newsweek on Tuesday they had no reason to think that Kim had suffered any kind of serious illness. Similarly, at the time, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency cited a government official who said there was nothing unusual coming from North Korea that could suggest Kim was ill.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un before a meeting with US President Donald Trump on the south side of the Military Demarcation Line that divides North and South Korea, in the Joint Security Area of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized zone on June 30, 2019.Should the reports of Kim's death prove accurate, there are a number of questions over who would be his successor.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Iran, North Korea, Russia: America's adversaries emboldened to flex their muscles amid coronavirusThe coronavirus pandemic is sapping attention, budgets and government personnel. U.S. adversaries from Moscow to Pyongyang are flexing their muscles.
Read more »
Trump thinks report was incorrect on illness of North Korea's Kim Jong UnU.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday threw more cold water on reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was gravely ill, but declined to say if he had been in touch with officials there.
Read more »
Russia sends flowers to still-absent Kim Jong Un while U.S. and South Korea hold air drillsWhile U.S. and South Korean warplanes drilled, North Korea's missing supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, reportedly 'received a floral basket from the Russian embassy' to mark his visit to Russia from last year.
Read more »
South Korea posts biggest GDP fall since 2008 as pandemic cripples demandThe coronavirus pandemic pushed South Korea's economy into its biggest contraction since 2008 in the first quarter, as self-isolation measures hit consumption and global trade slumped.
Read more »
North Korean silence on Kim’s health bolsters speculationWith North Korea saying nothing so far about reports that Kim Jong Un may be unwell, there’s renewed worry about who’s next in line to run a nuclear-armed country that’s been ruled by the same family for seven decades
Read more »