China medical team in North Korea as Beijing-backed TV boss claims Kim Jong Un dead
China rushes medical team to advise North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, say reports
HKSTV top official says he has 'very solid source' to confirm Kim Jong Un is dead
Even as China has sent in a medical team to North Korea to advise the leader, a Beijing-backed satellite TV channel's vice director, who is also a niece of a Chinese foreign minister, has claimed that Kim Jong Un is dead.
Vice director of HKSTV Hong Kong Satellite Television told her 15 million followers on Weibo that her Kim Jong Un death claim was backed by a "very solid source."
Her post on Weibo since then has been shared widely on social media. There is also a viral image that is being shared that claims to show Kim Jong Un lying dead inside a glass coffin.
While these claims cannot be verified independently, the timing of it certainly makes one curious as now China has sent in a medical team.
Reuters reported that China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to three people familiar with the situation.
At this point, until there is a report from either KCNA or other state media, there is no way to verify whether Kim Jong Un is alive or dead.
What really happened to Kim Jong Un?
Kim Jong Un's absence on April 15 raised doubts in international media leading to speculations that the North Korean leader's health was deteriorating. Kim Jong Un missing such an important holiday, which honors the founder of the country, Kim's late grandfather Kim Il Sung does raise curiosity.
Soon after that rumor mill noticed that neither KCNA or State-run had published any photos of Kim Jong Un overseeing an activity, most common being a weapons test, which are quite frequent in the country.
All of this soon led to speculative conclusions that the 36-year-old Kim was recovering from major surgery, or gravely ill, or maybe even dead.
Will Kim make an appearance on April 25?
Jean H. Lee, a senior journalist, who has spent considerable time in Pyongyang, April 25 would be a good day for Kim to make a public appearance.
"It's a military anniversary in North Korea on April 25. Not a major milestone year but if Kim Jong Un wants to quell rumors about his health, it would be a good occasion to make a public appearance. If he doesn't, the rumor mill will go into overdrive again. Bracing myself," she said in a tweet.
Trump calls CNN report on Kim Jong Un health fake
US President Donald Trump in a question during a press briefing if he was aware of the medical status of Kim Jong Un after CNN reported that the North Korean leader had a surgery.
Trump while in answer said that he was close to Kim and added: "I think the report was incorrect."
When asked by a CNN reporter if he has had any contact with Kim he snapped and said: "CNN is fake news, don't talk to me."
https://www.ibtimes.sg/china-medical-team-north-korea-tv-boss-kim-jong-un-dead-solid-source-43725
Y'all been trolled, Kim Jong Un is well and alive.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un makes first public appearance in 20 days after rumors of his death - Yonhap
US steps up intelligence-gathering on Kim Jong Un's sister
Favorite of her late father, Kim Yo Jong seen wielding power beyond her titles
NEW YORK/SEOUL -- Amid mixed reports about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, speculation is brewing over the question of who might assume power in Pyongyang should he be incapacitated, with his 32-year-old sister emerging as a leading candidate.
While there has been no clear evidence that Kim is indeed ill, the U.S. intelligence community will no doubt be accelerating its information-gathering on the sibling, Kim Yo Jong, said Bruce Klingner, who spent 20 years working at the Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency and is now senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation think tank.
Klingner said that the CIA carries out "leadership analysis," separate from a more general "political analysis" of a country, where it tries to gain a deeper understanding of top leaders.
"The CIA is responsible for collecting files on the Kim family. It is not just factual information but also on each individual's behavior," Klingner said. He noted that such issues as medication history, drug abuse, temperament, self-confidence and tendencies for impetuous action would be standard traits to analyze.
"The CIA will be looking at how much influence Kim Yo Jong has and how officials are deferring to her," he said.
Her appearance at the Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February 2018, gave the intelligence community an inside look at her standing within the leadership, according to Klingner. "Officials who were more senior than her in rank were clearly deferring to her," he said.
But Klingner also described North Korea as one of the hardest targets to obtain information on. "When I shifted from covering the Soviet Union to North Korea, the Soviets looked like an open book compared to Pyongyang," he recalled.
The South Korean government's insistence that nothing is amiss has failed to dispel rumors fueled by a CNN report last week that Kim was in "grave danger."
South Korea Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul told a closed-door forum that South Korea has "enough intelligence to confidently say that there are no unusual developments" in rival North Korea that would back up speculation about Kim's health, his ministry said Monday.
"Kim Jong Un is alive and well," Moon Chung-in, foreign policy adviser to President Moon Jae-in, told Fox News on Sunday. "He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13."
Yet a number of diplomatic sources in South Korea have indicated it is highly likely that Kim is suffering from health problems of some kind.
The Kim dynasty derives its legitimacy from the "Mt. Paektu bloodline" -- the family lineage that directly links Kim Jong Un and his siblings to founding father Kim Il Sung. If Kim Jong Un cannot lead, experts believe the most likely scenario is a shift to a collective leadership system centering on Kim Yo Jong, the de facto No. 2.
A favorite of her late father, Kim Jong Il, Kim Yo Jong has long been groomed for power by North Korean propaganda master Kim Ki Nam, according to the Financial Times.
Her global profile grew significantly when she was sent to the Winter Olympics, becoming the first member of the ruling Kim family to visit the South since the Korean War. She also accompanied her brother to Singapore in 2018 and then to Vietnam the following year for Kim Jong Un's two summits with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Kim Yo Jong has been solidifying her power of late. She was reinstated as an alternate member of the Politburo of the ruling Workers' Party on April 11 and is believed to have recently been moved to a position overseeing party appointments and intelligence-gathering. But some see her facing challenges in maintaining a firm grip on the military.
Some observers see authority being handed to Kim Jong Un's uncle, Kim Pyong Il. The 65-year-old -- the younger half-brother of Kim Jong Il -- previously served as North Korean ambassador to the Czech Republic and returned to his home country for the first time in more than three decades late last year.
Kim Jong Un's three children are too young to take over directly, with the oldest being only 10. His older brother, Kim Jong Chul, was passed over for leadership and has remained out of the circles of power in Pyongyang.
Reuters reported Friday that China had sent a medical team to the North to provide advice, citing three people familiar with the situation, which would back up reports that Kim had undergone cardiovascular surgery.
Supporting the Reuters report, Washington-based 38 North, a North Korea monitoring group, on Saturday released an analysis of commercial satellite imagery showing a train believed to belong to Kim at a railway station in Wonsan.
Meanwhile, Pyongyang has been muted in its response. Kim "sent thanks to the officials and working people for having rendered sincere assistance to the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area under construction," North Korea's state mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun said Monday. But official media have not directly confirmed his activities or those of Kim Yo Jong since April 12.
Amid this turmoil, South Korea held a ceremony Monday to launch the start of a planned North-South railway project, two years after a historic summit between Moon and Kim Jong Un. Construction is expected to begin in late 2021.
The Panmunjom Declaration signed by the two leaders at the 2018 summit called for relinking the countries by rail and road, among other goals including formally declaring an end to the Korean War. The lack of progress on implementing the declaration -- owing partly to a failed summit between Kim and Trump -- is said to have deepened Kim's distrust toward Seoul.
While a rail link between the two countries is impossible now because it would violate United Nations sanctions, Moon has expressed hope of resuming bilateral cooperation, saying that "we will figure out what we can do despite the sanctions and work ceaselessly to implement it."
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/N-Korea-at-crossroads/US-steps-up-intelligence-gathering-on-Kim-Jong-Un-s-sister
Fatty Kim spotted in HK!
Melissa Chen zeh zeh jin naughty, make fun of Kim bui bui's suffering......
Kim Jong-un ‘in a vegetative state after botched heart surgery’, disputed reports claim as China flies in medical team
KIM Jong-un is in "a vegetative state" in a coma following a botched heart operation, according to disputed reports tonight.
The unverified claims - which follow online rumours of his death - emerged as a team of Chinese medical experts reportedly flew in to treat the North Korean despot, who has not been seen in public for two weeks.
Speculation about Kim's failing health began after he failed to appear at an important celebration to mark the birthday of Kim Il-Sung, his grandfather and the founder of the country.
He had last been spotted four days before that at a meeting with government officials.
Reports from South Korea suggested that Kim - who is overweight and has a history of diet-related illness - underwent heart surgery on April 12 and was seriously ill.
The country's intelligence services detected “nothing to confirm" the rumours, officials said, and ally China also denied he was gravely ill.
But today Japanese newspaper Shukan Gendai said Kim had been left in a vegetative state by the bungled operation.
'COLLAPSED CLUTCHING HIS CHEST'
Unconfirmed reports claimed Kim was taken to hospital after clutching his chest and falling to the ground while out in the countryside.
He had a procedure to insert a stent but it went wrong because the terrified surgeon's hands were shaking, it was claimed.
It comes after Shijian Xingzou, vice director of Beijing-backed broadcaster Hong Kong Satellite Television, fuelled online rumours the tyrant was already dead.
She said on Chinese social media site Weibo that a "very solid source" had told her that Kim had died but did not give any further details.
Reports yesterday suggested he had been staying at an exclusive private villa on the country's east coast after a number of people around him tested positive for coronavirus.
Satellite photos released by North Korea watchers 38 North are claimed to show Kim's armoured private train at the resort in Wonsan.
Kim previously used the train during a high profile visit to China back in 2018 - his first trip outside the country since becoming leader.
On Thursday, China, one of North Korea's few allies globally, dispatched a specialist medical team to help in the leader's care, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the situation.
The delegation is thought to have been led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party's International Liaison Department, an agency charged with conducting relations with and influencing states and groups outside China.
BATTLE FOR THE CROWN
The uncertainty around Kim's health has sparked discussion of what his death could mean for North Korea, with many citing his sister as a possible successor.
Experts have also warned that the power vacuum left could result in an ugly civil war involving rival military units within the North Korean army.
Speaking to Reuters yesterday, a South Korean government source reiterated that their intelligence was that Kim was still alive and should be making an appearance soon.
An official familiar with US intelligence said that Kim was known to have health problems but they had no reason to conclude he was seriously ill or unable eventually to reappear in public.
President Trump, who met Kim in 2018, also sought to downplay reports of his poor health.
“I think the report was incorrect,” he told reporters, though he declined to say if he had been in touch with North Korean officials.
The episode is not the first time Kim has vanished from public view.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/11480224/kim-jong-un-vegetative-heart-surgery-china-help/
Fake news. Kim is way fatter than that corpse showcased in the photo.
Hmm if he's really dead then who could possibly take over as supreme leader? His sis or aunt?
His Sinkie friends Vivian and Ah Ong will surely be saddened to learn of his demise.
His murdered bro personally came to fetch him to meet 阎罗王 liao.......