Luxury boats spotted at Kim Jong-un's favorite beach villa suggest he may be holed up there: Experts
According to experts who monitor North Korea's sequestered regime, satellite imagery has captured recent movements of luxury boats often used by dictator Kim Jong-un and his entourage near Wonsan, indicating he is currently stationed at the coastal resort.
Kim's unprecedented absence from the April 15 celebrations to mark the birthday of his late grandfather Kim II-sung sparked speculation about the North Korean supremo's health and location and there has been a lot of conjectures about his death as well, Reuters reports.
Boats frequented by Kim had made movements suggesting he or his entourage may be in the Wonsan area, North Korea-monitoring website NK PRO reported on April 28.
This comes after reports last week that satellite images showed Kim's personal train was parked at a station that is solely reserved for his use at the luxurious villa in Wonsan.
It is plausible that Kim may be staying at the resort, officials in South Korea and the United States said, possibly to avoid exposure to the novel coronavirus. Meanwhile, they also expressed skepticism of news coverage that he was suffering from some serious illness.
However, they cautioned that reliable information is difficult to obtain in North Korea, and that Kim's health and location are even more guarded secrets.
Kim's last reported whereabouts, as reported by official media in North Korea, was when he presided over a state meeting on April 11. However, there have been daily reports of him sending letters and diplomatic messages since that meeting.
According to experts and satellite imagery, Kim's waterfront compound in Wonsan is lined with guest villas and features a private beach, basketball court, as well as a private train station. Last year, an airstrip was converted into a full-fledged horse riding track, with Kim's Princess 95 luxury yacht — valued at around $7 million in 2013 — parked at a boathouse nearby.
Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the US-based Stimson Center, has previously compared Kim's love for his Wonsan property to President Donald Trump's home and resort Mar-a-Lago in Florida.
“It’s one of his favorite houses,” Madden told Reuters.
Kim is believed to have at least 13 lavish compounds around the country, Madden said, although he is known to regularly use only about half of them.
“All of them are set up to serve as the leader’s headquarters, so they are all equipped for him to run the country,” he added.
According to Madden, Wonsan is one of the largest and most luxurious compounds. Furthermore, its convenient location allows Kim to easily travel to other areas along the east coast or return to Pyongyang in his private train or via a special highway designated for use only by the ruling family and other top officials.
Beyond that, Wonsan also has a symbolic past for the Kim dynasty. It is believed to be Kim Jong-un's birthplace, although this has never been confirmed. Moreover, it was where Kim Il-sung first landed with Soviet troops to take over the country at the end of Japanese colonial rule in 1945.
Japanese chef Kenji Fujimoto, who once worked for the Kims and visited Wonsan, recounted in his memoirs how Kim spent his childhood rollerblading, playing basketball, playing in the pool, and riding jet skis at the seaside compound.
Kim was also pictured having drinks with NBA star Dennis Rodman at the villa when the latter visited North Korea in 2013.