North Korean state media outfits claimed on Monday that dictator Kim Jong-un, whose health has become the subject of animated rumors this weekend, had sent a message of thanks to construction workers in Wonsan, a seaside town he has been attempting to turn into a resort destination for years.
Reports attributed to anonymous sources last week claimed that Kim was either dead, comatose, or dying as a result of either heart surgery, complications from Chinese coronavirus, or both. North Korea claims to have no documented coronavirus cases. The speculation regarding heart disease is based on Kim’s state of obesity, which puts him at high risk despite being allegedly in his mid-30s.
The speculation grew in light of Kim not appearing at a public event on April 15, known as the “Day of the Sun” in North Korea and its most important religious holiday. April 15 is the birthday of Kim’s grandfather and the founder of the communist regime, Kim Il-sung.
None of the reports came from sources on the record, and many appeared to come from unnamed Chinese officials. The government of South Korea has repeatedly denied the rumors, stating that Kim is healthy. The United States has not confirmed any reports, either; President Donald Trump stated last week that he believed the rumors to be “incorrect.”
“Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un has sent his appreciation to the workers who devoted themselves to building the Wonsan-Kalma tourist zone,” a report in Rodong Sinmun, the North Korean state newspaper, read on Monday, according to a translation by the South Korean newswire service Yonhap. Yonhap described the “tourist zone” as one of Kim’s “key pet construction projects.” Kim has for years attempted to lift sanctions on his government to invest money into Wonsan and attract tourists to its beaches. Kim is also believed to have spent much time there when not in landlocked Pyongyang.
Yonhap did not offer any more details about the report. The English-language Rodong Sinmun page did not appear to be carrying the report and the feature titled “Supreme Leader’s Activities” has not been updated since April 12, the day after Kim was last seen in public.
In the immediate aftermath of the first reports that Kim was reportedly in “grave danger,” no North Korean state media outlets addressed the rumors. Instead, several newspapers and online media published reports stating that Kim was busy wishing various notable North Koreans, and Cuban second-in-command Miguel Díaz-Canel, happy birthdays. As of Monday, that situation appears to be the same across various media outlets in the country, all of them controlled by Kim’s communist regime. In addition to the report that he had offered special attention to the Wonsan workers, one report stated Kim “sent greetings” to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Several other reports reminisced over prior Kim public appearances.
“One day Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un visited a unit of the Korean People’s Army which was honored with the title of O Jung Hup-led 7th regiment,” Rodong Sinmun recalled. “That day he was hugely delighted that the unit boasted very many heroes of the Republic. He said that it should not waste their blood and that its combatants should inherit their spirit and be heroes to the last man in the future.”
Another report in a publication called DPRK Today recalled the anniversary of Kim’s first visit to Russia. Kim met Russian President Vladimir Putin in western Vladivostok shortly after a meeting with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping.
Reports out of South Korea have for months indicated that Kim is in Wonsan. A report this weekend by the monitor site 38 North noted that satellite images show Kim’s personal train in the seaside town. Images as far back as April 21 show the train there.
“Some news media have reported that Kim was spotted walking on a beach there, but that could be a stand-in or another portly person,” South Korea’s conservative Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported. Chosun Ilbo also stated that South Korean officials believe Kim to be in Wonsan.
Another South Korean newspaper, Dong-A Ilbo, reported on Monday similarly that American officials had evidence of Kim walking around in Wonsan.
“It has been identified that Kim Jong Un had been staying in Wonsan during the entire last week,” Dong-A Ilbo quoted a “U.S. official” saying, with no indication of who they may be or where within the vast American government apparatus they worked. “He was seen to be walking on his own between April 15 and 20.”
The report concluded he was, at least, healthy enough to walk alone, without a cane or wheelchair.
The unnamed official concluded that Kim fled to Wonsan, “which has a high population density, as a preventive measure.” Rumors that Kim left Pyongyang fearing the Chinese coronavirus began circulating in mid-March. The Kim family owns a lavish compound in the port town, which makes it a common place to escape to for senior officials.
Bizarrely, Dong-A Ilbo also published a report on Monday claiming that Kim did not suffer heart disease or coronavirus infection, but that he had been injured by a missile test.
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