 |
| DPRK Leader Kim Jong-un (File Photo) |
By Clint Richards
The rumor mill is in overdrive, as Pyongyang’s leadership appears anxious for calm.
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has failed to appear for a key portion of Friday’s 69th anniversary of the ruling Workers’ Party founding, an event he has attended every year since taking power in 2011. His absence at the annual pilgrimage to the mausoleum that holds the remains of his grandfather and father in the capital of Pyongyang, which happened shortly after midnight on Friday, is already stirring a frenzied response from the media. While North Korea’s official KCNA usually posts a story of his visit with hours of its occurrence, the state media outlet did not list him among the attending officials.
The rumor mill surrounding Kim’s disappearance began churning in late September, after he had already been out of the public eye for three weeks. It was kicked off by a report from North Korea’s official state media that suggested the leader had a health issue, a state documentary said that “The wealth and prosperity of our socialism is thanks to the painstaking efforts of our marshal, who keeps lighting the path for the people, like the flicker of a flame, despite suffering discomfort,” according to Reuters.
What that discomfort is has been speculated about at some length. There are reports of ankle problems that required foreign doctors from Europe for surgery, possible gout due to the leader’s love of Swiss cheese, or just a general and undefined illness. Yet South Korean officials have also countered this illness narrative, with a South Korean official telling the Chosun Ilbo that, after having met with North Korean officials during a surprise meeting in Seoul, “something in his tone told me that Kim Jong-un had no serious problems with his health.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat