Seoul, April 25: Amid ambiguity prevailing over the health condition of North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, China fueled more speculations by sending a team of medics to the neighbouring nation. The team, which includes members of China's Communist Party's international liaison department along with medical experts, has been sent to the North to check on Jong Un's health, reports said on Saturday. Kim Jong Un Death Hoax: Is North Korea's Supreme Leader Dead? Photoshopped Image of Kim Jong Il's Funeral Goes Viral.

Chinese sources while speaking to news agency Reuters claimed that the delegation send by Beijing is headed by a senior member of the liaison department, and also includes top medical experts. The Chinese Foreign Minister, however, was yet to confirm the development.

Daily NK, a website based in Seoul had claimed that the North Korean leader underwent a cardiovascular surgery on April 12. Subsequent reports which appeared in the western media claimed Jong Un was incapacitated to continue at the helm of power due to severe health ailments. Reports also claimed that he was either infected with coronavirus or has been declared "brain dead" following a surgery.

South Korean officials and the Chinese government have trashed the reports suggesting that Jong Un is in coma. According to Seoul, there was no unusual activity detected in Pyongyang or other parts of the North. Had the Supreme Leader been incapacitated, it would had invoked unprecedented reaction from the locals.

An official of the South Korean Intelligence told Reuters that the speculations related to Jong Un's health are disproportionate. The North Korean leader will be seen in the public shortly, he added.

United States President Donald Trump, in his regular press briefing on Thursday, suggested that the reports declaring Jong Un as brain dead are unsubstantiated. "I think the report was incorrect," he said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo later reiterated the point while speaking to Fox News. He added that the American administration is keenly observing the developments.

Despite the US and South Korea - two nations at loggerheads with the North - doubting the reports claiming that Jong Un is brain dead, who fuels the speculations is the silence maintained by the Pyongyang state media.

Amid the lack of information, a hoax went viral on social media earlier today. Rumour mongers shared an edited photo from the funeral of Kim Jong Il, the late leader of North Korea and father of Jong Un. The latter's face was morphed into the photo to show that he has died. A section of the Twitterati, however, ended up busting the hoax.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 25, 2020 09:12 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).