North Korean leader ‘did not undergo op’
NORTH Korean leader Kim Jongun did not undergo surgery or any other medical procedure, a South Korean official has said amid continued speculation about his health.
North Korea had said on Saturday that Mr Kim attended the completion of a fertiliser factory near Pyongyang on Friday, in his first public appearance in about 20 days.
Officials at the ceremony included his sister Kim Yo-jong, who many analysts predict would take over if her brother is suddenly unable to rule.
While his re-emergence, captured on video footage released by North Korean state media, quelled intense rumours that he might be gravely ill or even have died, some media outlets and observers still raised questions about his health, citing moments when his walking looked a bit stiff at the factory.
A senior South Korean presidential official told reporters yesterday that the government has determined that Mr Kim did not have surgery or any other procedure, according to the presidential Blue House.
When rumours about Mr Kim’s health surfaced in recent weeks, the South Korean government steadfastly dismissed them as baseless and maintained there were no unusual activities in the North.
It is not the first time Mr Kim has disappeared from public view for an extended period. In 2014, when he reappeared after a six-week absence, he walked with a cane and used an electric cart.
The North Korea-provided footage on Saturday showed the 36-year-old riding an electric cart similar to the one he used in 2014, when he was reported to have an ankle injury.
In 2018, Mr Kim entered talks with US president Donald Trump on the fate of his nuclear arsenal, but their diplomacy has been deadlocked in recent months.
Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday that “I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well”.
Meanwhile, South Korea said its troops have exchanged fire with North Korea along their tense land border. The Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul said North Korean troops fired several bullets at a South Korean guard post inside the heavily fortified border between the countries yesterday.
The military said in a statement South Korea fired two rounds in response after issuing a warning broadcast. It said South Korea suffered no casualties.
The Koreas are split along the 155-mile long, 2.5-mile wide border called the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) that was originally created as a buffer. It is the world’s most heavily fortified border.
An estimated two million mines are peppered inside and near the DMZ, which is also guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides.