Intelligence reports from US and South Korea cast doubt on rumors of Kim Jong Un’s death [Video]

• Reports from US and South Korean intelligence agencies appear to refute rumors of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
• Rumors of Kim being gravely ill has circulated ever since he missed the celebrations of his grandfather’s birthday on April 15. 
• But a Washington-based monitoring group presented satellite imagery of Kim’s private train at an elite North Korean coastal resort last week. 

Reports of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are believed to be inaccurate by US and South Korean intelligence agencies, according to The Washington Post.

A Washington-based North Korean monitoring project, 38 North, presented satellite imagery showing the leader’s personal train at Wonsan, a coastal resort in the country, last week.

Satellite imagery indicates that Kim Jong Un was likely at his Wonsan compound earlier this week. https://t.co/do75evMgcY #KimJongUn— 38 North (@38NorthNK) April 25, 2020

A South Korean intelligence official told the publication, “We understand that Chairman Kim Jong Un has been in Wonsan this week.”

On April 15, the leader had missed the public events celebrating the birth of his grandfather, who founded the current regime.

Rumors that he was gravely ill had surfaced since then.

According to North Korean state media, Kim attended government meetings and a military review in the days prior. However, his whereabouts have been unknown since then.

Kim missed another important event on Saturday — North Korea’s Military Foundation Day, which also honors Kim’s grandfather.

A new wave of rumors now speculates his death.

But according to 38 North, his personal train was seen in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23.

Their report clarified, “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.”

Meanwhile, a senior Pentagon official told Newsweek that Kim’s continued absence and apparent stay at the resort only lends credibility to the rumors that the leader is ill.

And according to a report from Reuters on Friday, a group of doctors was dispatched from China to North Korea to advise on Kim’s health.

It is still unknown, however, what the doctors’ arrival meant regarding Kim’s health.

Source: Business Insider