Kim Jong-un hiding in private beach resort after cronies tested positive for coronavirus, says report
North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un recently traveled to an exclusive beach resort after people around him tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to reports. The Pyongyang leader reportedly left the capital on his private train and headed to the Wonsan-Kalma peninsula last week, where the dictator has a private villa.
Kim opted to go to the villa on the east coast of North Korea after some members of his inner circle fell ill, according to Korean outlet Ichannela, the Sun reported. The report was backed by Japanese newspaper The Sanei, which suggested that Kim had fled Pyongyang because of the rapidly spreading novel coronavirus cases in the densely populated city.
North Korea, however, has claimed that there are not reported coronavirus cases in the nation yet. The state's claims are not yet confirmed and appear dubious considering widespread coronavirus outbreaks in neighboring countries like South Korea and China.
The latest reports have emerged amid increasing scrutiny over Kim's health after a South Korean outlet, Daily NK, claimed that Kim had undergone a cardiovascular system procedure in North Pyongyang on April 12 because of "excessive smoking, obesity and overworking." US media, a week later, reportedly received a tip from an intelligence official that the dictator was indeed in a critical condition.
The state-controlled North Korean media has also been unusually silent about their leader's whereabouts. The main headlines from North Korea's state news agency, KCNA, on Wednesday, April 22, included pieces on sports equipment, mulberry picking, and a meeting in Bangladesh to study North Korea's "juche" or self-reliance ideology. However, there were no reports on Kim's whereabouts.
Kim's health came under scrutiny after he gave a miss to an annual visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun for the 108th birthday of his late grandfather, state founder Kim Il-sung, last week, on April 15.
A former North Korean deputy ambassador to Britain who defected to South Korea in 2016, Thae Yong-ho, said that it was unusual for the Pyongyang state media to remain silent considering it has been quick to dispel questions about the status of its leadership in the past. An official with the Ministry of Unification in South Korea on Thursday, April 24, said that the absence of his recent pictures from state media was unusual but more time was needed to see what is going on.
"It is unusual that Kim did not attend the tribute at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, but we need more time to see what is going on," the official said. "When there were rumors that Kim Il-sung had been shot in 1986, North Korea showed images of him on state media instead of directly responding to the speculations. North Korea has never made an official response to such rumors on the death of its leader."
A US government source who had previously played down the reports of Kim's illness, however, on Wednesday, April 22, said that the situation was now being closely monitored.
President Donald Trump, however, dismissed rumors about Kim's health during a daily White House press briefing on Thursday, April 24. Trump said that he might contact North Korean officials to inquire about Kim.
"We have a good relationship with North Korea, I have a good relationship with Kim Jong-un and I hope he's okay," Trump said.