As rumors about North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s health continue to swirl, President Trump said he has “a very good idea” about the matter.
Speaking from the White House’s Rose Garden on Monday, Trump was asked if he had any updates on Kim’s health, which has come under close scrutiny after reports that he is in “grave danger” following heart surgery or could be in a vegetative state.
“I can’t tell you exactly. Yes, I do have a very good idea, but I can’t talk about it now,” Trump said. “I just wish him well. I’ve had a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un.”
The president repeated one of his common talking points that the United States “would have been in war with Korea” had he not been elected president.
“I hope he’s fine. I do know how he’s doing, relatively speaking,” the president said. “We will see. You’ll probably be hearing in the not-too-distant future.”
A weekend report from the Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai claimed that a member of a Chinese team of experts, who dispatched to North Korea, said Kim collapsed after grasping his chest and fell into a vegetative state following surgery. The U.S. intelligence community is investigating reports that the dictator is unwell.
Kim was absent from the public last Friday while the country’s state-run media marked the 88th anniversary of its armed forces. He was also conspicuously absent from the hermit nation’s most important national holiday, his grandfather Kim Il Sung’s birthday. Sung founded the Kim dynasty with Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong Il, becoming leader after the death of Kim Il Sung.
Trump had previously said that he “wishes him well” and has also pushed back on the CNN report that the dictator is in grave danger. South Korea also contradicted reports on Kim’s failing health, insisting Sunday that he is “alive and well.” Hours later, North Korean outlets reported that the leader thanked workers building a tourist zone.
