North Korea’s Kim Jong Un sends thanks amid speculation about his health

The report is the first word from Pyongyang since unconfirmed reports last week suggested that Kim might be in grave condition following heart surgery that, according to some reports, left him “brain dead” or in “a vegetative state.”

An adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in told Fox News yesterday that the rumors were unfounded. “Our government position is firm,” said Moon Chung-in. “Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected.”

TRAIN SPOTTED: The North Korean monitoring site 38 North released commercial satellite imagery showing that Kim’s private train, his favorite mode of travel, has been parked at the railway station in Wonsan for at least a week.

“The train’s presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country’s eastern coast,” the website notes. “Imagery indicates the train arrived sometime before April 21 and was still present on April 23, when it appeared to be repositioned for departure. However, there was no indication when that departure might take place.”

STILL WAITING FOR SOMETHING CONCLUSIVE: North Korean state media has still not addressed the health and death rumors directly, including a report from Reuters on Saturday that China had dispatched a team of medical experts to North Korea.

On Friday, Reuters reported that a South Korean source said the country’s intelligence indicated that Kim was alive and would likely make an appearance soon.

The silence from Pyongyang is in contrast to its quick response earlier this month, when President Trump commented that he had recently received “a nice note” from Kim. North Korea’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement disputing the report. “There was no letter addressed recently to the U.S. president by the supreme leadership,” it read.

‘NONE OF US WILL KNOW’: “This time, however, the rumors feel different,” writes Anna Fifield, Washington Post Beijing bureau chief and author of a biography of Kim. “The talk that Kim Jong Un had some kind of heart surgery has had a stubborn persistence, making the real question his condition.”

“There’s been panic buying in the capital, where locals are stocking up on everything from laundry detergent and rice to electronics to liquor,” she writes. “Helicopters have been flying low over Pyongyang, sources have told me, and trains within North Korea and also over the border in northern China have been disrupted.”

But Fifield notes that Kim has disappeared from public view before and that he turned out to be fine. “It would hardly be the first time that reports of the death of a North Korean leader had been greatly exaggerated,” she wrote.

“The short answer right now is: I don’t know. None of us will know until either North Korea tells us or he waddles back into view,” she concludes.

A headline in the Daily Beast seemed to sum up the general feeling of experts. “Is Kim Jong Un Dead, Injured, Comatose, Convalescing, Down with COVID-19, or Just F**king With Us?”

Good Monday morning, and welcome to Jamie McIntyre’s Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by David Sivak and Tyler Van Dyke. Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn’t work, shoot us an email, and we’ll add you to our list. And be sure to follow us on Twitter: @dailyondefense.

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HAPPENING TODAY: The Center for Strategic and International Studies is hosting an online discussion on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the defense supply chain and its implications for the defense budget, with Todd Harrison, director, Defense Budget Analysis Program; Andrew Hunter, director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group; and Mackenzie Eaglen of the American Enterprise Institute. Register at https://zoom.us/webinar.

AWAITING ESPER’S DECISION: Defense Secretary Mark Esper is mulling over the fate of Capt. Brett Crozier following a meeting Friday with acting Navy Secretary James McPherson and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday, during which Gilday recommended overturning the decision by former acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly to relieve Crozier of command of the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

Modly accused Crozier of “betrayal” by sending an email that he knew or should have known would leak, pleading for authorization to evacuate 90% of the aircraft carrier’s crew to protect them from the coronavirus, which was quickly spreading within the confines of the ship. Modly accused Crozier of going outside his chain of command, but an email obtained by the Washington Post shows it was sent to his immediate superiors and their executive officers.

Modly subsequently resigned after being forced to apologize for an angry rant delivered to the ship’s crew in Guam.

‘WANTS TO ACTUALLY READ THE REPORT’: The investigation of the virus outbreak on the carrier goes far beyond the question of Crozier’s actions and Modly’s response, and after the meeting Friday with the Navy’s top leaders, Esper’s spokesman said the defense secretary needs time to digest the details of the written report.

“Secretary Esper received a verbal update from the acting Secretary of the Navy and the Chief of Naval Operations on the Navy’s preliminary inquiry into the COVID-19 outbreak on the USS Theodore Roosevelt,” said Jonathan Hoffman in a statement. “After the Secretary receives a written copy of the completed inquiry, he intends to thoroughly review the report and will meet again with Navy leadership to discuss next steps.”

“Although many in the media are focused on one aspect of the initial inquiry, it is in fact about far more than one person,” said a senior defense official who was not authorized to speak on the record because of an ongoing sensitive inquiry. “The Secretary wants to ensure that the report is thorough and can stand up under the rightful scrutiny of Congress, the media, the families and crew of the Theodore Roosevelt, and the American people. “To ensure that, he wants to actually read the report.”

WANTS TO GET IT RIGHT: After Modly rushed to judgment without waiting for the investigation, Esper wants to take his time to make sure he has a full understanding, the official said.

“The Navy’s inquiry covered a complex timeline of communications between Naval officers, as well as response efforts spanning a dozen time zones and multiple commands,” the official said. “Given the importance of the topic and the complex nature, the Secretary is going to read the full written report.”

COVID-19 OUTBREAK ON USS KIDD: Meanwhile, a second Navy ship, the destroyer USS Kidd, has been ordered to return to port after 33 sailors among the 350-member crew tested positive for COVID-19. Two have been medically evaluated to the United States.

“Sailors aboard Kidd are wearing PPE and N95 masks, the Navy said Sunday. “USS Makin Island, with a Fleet Surgical Team, ICU capacity and ventilators, and additional testing capability, is en route to rendezvous with Kidd in case medical support is required at sea.”

“Testing continues, and we expect additional cases. All measures are being taken to evaluate the extent of the COVID-19 transmission on the ship,” the Navy said.

The USS Kidd, which has been operating off the Pacific coast of Central America as part of a counterdrug mission, will return to port, where the crew will continue to clean and disinfect the ship, the Navy said.

COVID COUNT: The current number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 among U.S. military members, DOD civilian employees, contractors, and their dependents is 6,213 as of Friday, an increase of 312 cases. Of those, 1,947 have recovered, and 281 required hospitalization at some point. The death toll is now 26, up one from last Thursday.

All of the crew members of the USS Roosevelt have now been tested, and there are 833 sailors who tested positive, with 4,105 testing negative. Of the total cases, 112 sailors have recovered, and 4,273 sailors have moved ashore. Two sailors remain hospitalized, but none are in intensive care anymore. One sailor died.

INDUSTRY WATCH: Boeing announced Saturday that it has terminated a long-planned $4.2 billion deal with the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer.

“The parties had planned to create a joint venture comprising Embraer’s commercial aviation business and a second joint venture to develop new markets for the C-390 Millennium medium airlift and air mobility aircraft,” Boeing said in a statement. “Boeing exercised its rights to terminate after Embraer did not satisfy the necessary conditions.”

“Boeing has worked diligently over more than two years to finalize its transaction with Embraer. Over the past several months, we had productive but ultimately unsuccessful negotiations,” said Marc Allen, president of Boeing’s Embraer Partnership and Group Operation. “It is deeply disappointing. But we have reached a point where continued negotiation … is not going to resolve the outstanding issues.”

The Rundown

Washington Examiner: Governors use National Guard for coronavirus testing but need government help for test kits

Washington Examiner: With USS Kidd now stricken by coronavirus, Navy applies lessons learned from USS Theodore Roosevelt ordeal

AP: Pentagon focusing on most vital personnel for virus testing

AP: Navy Hospital Ship Comfort Offloads Few Remaining Patients Before NYC Exit

Kitsap Sun: As Nimitz Prepares To Depart, Thousands Of Bremerton Sailors Tested For COVID-19

CNN.com: How The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Shaken The U.S. Military

Task & Purpose: Here is what we can look forward to when the COVID-19 pandemic finally ends

Wall Street Journal: Pentagon Invests In Strategic Metals Mine, Seeking To Blunt Chinese Dominance

Bloomberg: U.S. Has Gunships Ready to Deliver on Trump’s Warning to Iran

Defense News: Five F-35 Issues Have Been Downgraded, But They Remain Unsolved

Forbes: Pentagon Study Would Cut Aircraft Carriers, Undermining Most Useful U.S. Warfighting System

USNI News: Destroyer USS Zumwalt Delivers to Navy After Combat System Activation

AP: The Latest: Family of fallen US Marine surprised with parade

U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings: There Is Now Only One Path to 355 Ships

Calendar

NOTE: Many events in Washington have been canceled or moved online in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Pentagon has been conducting almost-daily pop-up briefings, which are often only announced at the last minute. Check https://www.defense.gov for updates to the Pentagon’s schedule.

MONDAY | APRIL 27

8:30 a.m. — NATO Deputy Secretary-General Mircea Geoana discusses NATO’s response to COVID-19 in an online event with Jamie Shea, former NATO spokesman and senior fellow at Friends of Europe. Streamed live at https://www.friendsofeurope.org/events.

8:45 a.m. — Atlantic Council discussion via webcast: “The COVID-19 challenge: Achieving a humanitarian ceasefire in Afghanistan,” with EU Special Envoy to Afghanistan Roland Kobia; Orzala Nemat, director of the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit; Sahar Halaimzai, co-founder of Time4RealPeace; Andrew Watkins, senior analyst for Afghanistan at the Crisis Group; and Marika Theros, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council South Asia Center. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event

9 a.m — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “Crisis and Survival Amidst COVID-19 in Yemen,” with U.N. Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Lisa Grande. https://www.csis.org/events/online-event

2 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies online discussion on the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on the defense supply chain and its implications for the defense budget, with Todd Harrison, director, Defense Budget Analysis Program; Andrew Hunter, director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group; and Mackenzie Eaglen of the American Enterprise Institute. https://zoom.us/webinar/register

2 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group webcast: “National Security Powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI),” with Terry Busch, division chief in the Defense Intelligence Agency’s Directorate for Analysis; Nand Mulchandani, CTO in the Defense Department’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center; Alexander Miller, senior Army adviser for science and technology; Mikel Rodriguez, decision science innovation area leader at MITRE; Patrick Biltgen, director of analytics and data services at Perspecta Inc.; and Patrick Tucker, technology editor at Defense One. https://www.govexec.com/feature

2 p.m. — Middle East Institute discussion via webinar on “The Effects of COVID-19 on U.S. Defense Strategy and Posture in the Middle East,” with retired Army Gen. Joseph Votel, president and CEO of Business Executives for National Security and former commander of U.S. Central Command; Mara Karlin, strategic studies director at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Michael Patrick Mulroy, co-founder of the Lobo Institute and senior fellow for national security and defense policy at MEI; and Bilal Saab, senior fellow and director of the MEI Defense and Security Program. https://www.mei.edu/events/effects

2 p.m. — SETA Foundation at Washington, D.C., webinar: “U.S. Role in the Middle East in the Age of Coronavirus,” with retired Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, former assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs; Mike Doran, senior fellow, Hudson Institute; and Kadir Ustun, executive director, SETA Foundation. https://zoom.us/webinar/register

TUESDAY | APRIL 28

10 a.m. — German Marshall Fund of the United States webinar: “What Lies Ahead for the Transatlantic Relationship After the Coronavirus?” with retired Army Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, strategic studies chair at the Center for European Policy Analysis; and Roland Paris, international affairs professor at the University of Ottawa Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and former senior adviser for global affairs and defense to the Canadian prime minister. http://www.gmfus.org/events/ytn-webinar

10 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies webcast: “Russia’s ‘Private” Military Companies: The Example of the Wagner Group,” with Kimberly Marten, professor and chair of Barnard College’s Department of Political Science; Jeffrey Edmonds, research scientist at CNA; and Jeffrey Mankoff, deputy director of the CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program. https://www.csis.org/events

10 a.m. — Henry L. Stimson Center webcast: “Trends in Global Arms Transfers and Military Spending,” with Nan Tian, researcher in the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s Arms and Military Expenditure Program; Valerie Insinna, air warfare reporter at Defense News; Siemon Wezeman, senior researcher in the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure Program; Mindy Smithberger, director of the Project on Government Oversight’s Military Reform Project; and Rachel Stohl, vice president of Stimson. https://www.stimson.org/event

11 a.m. — Heritage Foundation webinar: “COVID-19 Cover-Ups: Coronavirus Reporting in Iran, North Korea and Russia,” with Maria Snegovaya, adjunct fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis; Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at Heritage; James Phillips, senior research fellow at Heritage; and Luke Coffey, director of the Heritage Center for Foreign Policy. https://www.heritage.org/middle-east/event

11 a.m. — United States Institute of Peace webinar: “China’s Impact on Conflict Dynamics in the Red Sea Arena,” with former acting Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Susan Thornton, senior fellow in the Yale Law School’s China Center; Deborah Brautigam, director of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies’ China Africa Research Initiative; Maria Repnikova, assistant professor at Georgia State University; David Shinn, adjunct professor at George Washington University; Joel Wuthnow, research fellow at the National Defense University Center for the Study of Chinese Military Affairs; Payton Knopf, adviser to the USIP Africa Program; Patricia Kim, senior policy analyst in the USIP China Program; Johnnie Carson, senior adviser at USIP; and Jennifer Staats, director of east and southeast Asia programs at USIP. https://www.usip.org/events

12:30 p.m. — Brookings Institution book discussion via webinar on “Becoming Kim Jong Un — A Former CIA Officer’s Insights into North Korea’s Enigmatic Young Dictator,” with author Jung Pak, senior fellow in the Brookings Center for East Asia Policy Studies; Sue Mi Terry, Korea chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; and Ryan Hass, fellow in the Brookings Center for East Asia Policy Studies. https://www.brookings.edu/events/webinar

1 p.m. — Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies webcast: “Diplomacy in the Age of Coronavirus,” with United Arab Emirates Ambassador to the United States Lana Nusseibeh; and Eliot Cohen, SAIS dean. https://sais.jhu.edu/campus-events

1 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group webcast “Digital Defense: How Identity Management Supports Secure, Agile Mission Delivery,” with Jason Howe, Air Force CTO and chief cloud architect; Michael McDonnell, senior cloud architect at CDO Technologies; Andrew Whelchel, principal solutions engineer at Okta; and Sam Jackson, senior content producer at Government Executive. https://www.govexec.com/feature

WEDNESDAY | APRIL 29

8 a.m. — Northrop Grumman Corporation webcasts its first quarter 2020 financial results conference call with Kathy Warden, chairman, chief executive officer, and president; and Dave Keffer, chief financial officer. http://investor.northropgrumman.com

9 a.m. — General Dynamics webcasts its first quarter 2020 financial results conference call on www.gd.com.

10:30 a.m. — The Boeing Company releases its financial results for the first quarter of 2020 during a conference call with David Calhoun, president and chief executive officer; and Greg Smith, chief financial officer and executive vice president of enterprise performance and strategy. Webcast at https://services.choruscall.com.

10 a.m. — George Washington University Project for Media and National Security Defense Writers Group conference call with Rep. Adam Smith, a Washington Democrat and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. https://nationalsecuritymedia.gwu.edu

10 a.m. — Atlantic Council webcast: “What’s Next for U.S.-Iraq Relations?” with Kirsten Fontenrose, director of the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Security Initiative; Abbas Kadhim, director of the Atlantic Council’s Iraq Initiative; C. Anthony Pfaff, nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council; William Wechsler, director of the Atlantic Council’s Hariri Center; and Louisa Loveluck, Baghdad bureau chief for the Washington Post. https://atlanticcouncil.org/event

10:30 a.m. — Arms Control Association webinar: “The Future of New START and U.S. National Security,” with former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller; former Joint Chiefs Chairman Navy Adm. Michael Mullen; former Undersecretary of Energy for Nuclear Security Frank Klotz; and former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Thomas Countryman. https://zoom.us/webinar/register

12 p.m. — Hudson Institute webcast: “Is Britain Still A Global Power?” with UK Ambassador to the U.S. Karen Pierce and Ben Judah, visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute. https://www.hudson.org/events

2 p.m. — Government Executive Media Group webcast: “Unpacking Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification,” with Katie Arrington, chief information security officer in the Defense Department’s Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition. https://www.govexec.com/feature

THURSDAY | APRIL 30

10 a.m. — Brookings Institution webinar: “What Role will the Army Play in Great Power Competition After COVID-19?” with Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy; Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville; and Michael O’Hanlon, senior fellow at Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/events/webinar

11 a.m. — Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance online discussion: “The Missile Defense Review: One Year Reflection and Outlook to the Future,” with John Rood, former undersecretary of defense for policy; and Riki Ellison, founder and chairman, Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance. https://www.youtube.com/watch

11 a.m. — Washington International Trade Association webinar: “COVID-19 and Trade: The Defense Production Act and Buy American Provisions.” https://zoom.us/webinar/register