North Korea’s Kim Jong Un is reportedly in “grave danger” after a medical procedure.
A U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter told CNN Monday the United States was monitoring intelligence of Kim’s surgery that has come out of the hermit nation. A correspondent for NBC News also indicated that two U.S. officials said Kim was brain dead after slipping into a coma but later deleted her tweet while awaiting more details.
The Daily NK, a South Korean-based website, reported earlier that an informant inside North Korea claimed that the dictator recently had a “cardiovascular surgical procedure.”
Kim missed his grandfather’s birthday celebration. The date, April 15, is known as “Day of the Sun” and celebrates North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. It is the reclusive country’s most important national holiday, and Kim’s absence caused some to speculate about his health.
Nothing about Kim’s health has been published through North Korean media, which is completely under the control of the government. South Korea is looking into the report.
CNN’s chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto first reported Kim’s dire health situation live on the network Monday night.
“I’m told by a U.S. official with direct knowledge that the U.S. is monitoring intelligence that the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in grave danger following a surgery,” he said. “Now, we should note that Kim, he recently missed the celebration of his grandfather Kim Il Sung’s birthday. … This raised speculation about his well-being, about his health.”
Kim was in critical condition following a cardiovascular surgery last week, Bloomberg reported. An official in President Trump’s administration said it was not clear if Kim was dead or alive.
Kim was already known to be in very poor general health as a heavy smoker weighing about 300 pounds and somewhere in the height range of 5’7″ to 5’8″. That would make him morbidly obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more susceptible to major health issues.
Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation who once worked as CIA deputy division chief for North Korea, told CNN there had been reoccurring rumors about Kim’s health since he took power in 2011 after his father Kim Jong Il’s death.
“There have been a number of recent rumors about Kim’s health: smoking, heart, and brain. If Kim is hospitalized, it would explain why he wasn’t present on the important April 15 celebrations,” Klingner said. “But, over the years, there have been a number of false health rumors about Kim Jong Un or his father. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Kang Min Seok, a spokesman for South Korea’s Blue House, which is the country’s equivalent to the White House, told the Associated Press officials have not yet been able to confirm the latest reporting about Kim’s health.
“We have no information to confirm regarding rumors about Chairman Kim Jong Un’s health issue that have been reported by some media outlets. Also, no unusual developments have been detected inside North Korea,” Kang said in a statement.
There has been ongoing tension between North Korea and the U.S. over the former’s nuclear program. Trump and Kim met in Vietnam last February to discuss the acrimony, although the summit was cut short after the parties failed to reach a substantive agreement on North Korea’s denuclearization. They met again in June when Trump crossed the demarcation line into North Korea.
North Korea has performed multiple missile tests since that time.
Even as the world buckled down during the coronavirus pandemic, North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles off of its coast while claiming that not a single person in the secretive nation has contracted the virus. But the nation has reportedly been quietly reaching out to the international community, asking for help with testing.
There is no indication that Kim’s reported health issue is related to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Kim’s last appearance in state-run media was April 11.
South Korea’s Yonhap News, citing a government official, reported South Korea has seen “no unusual signs with regard to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s health.”
In 2014, Kim’s health came under scrutiny when he disappeared for more than a month. The dictator reemerged sporting a cane, which intelligence officials said was the result of a cyst removal surgery.
A White House representative declined to comment, and a State Department spokesperson said the department is aware of the reports and is “continuing to monitor the situation.” An official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday that it was also “monitoring the situation.”
The Washington Examiner has also reached out to the CIA for comment.
