Kim Jong Un's Letter to South African President on Freedom Day 2020 Appears Amid Rumours Over North Korean Leader’s Health
Amid speculations that Kim Jong Un could be dead, the North Korean state media on Monday published a letter from him to South African President.
Seoul, April 27: Amid speculations that Kim Jong Un could be dead, the North Korean state media on Monday published a letter from him to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulating him on Freedom Day 2020. In the letter dated April 27, Kim Jong Un, according to Korean Central News Agency, said that the two nations' friendship would unendingly expand and develop. The letter was released at a time when Kim Jong Un is making no public appearance. Kim Jong Un Death Hoax: Is North Korea's Supreme Leader Dead? Photoshopped Image of Kim Jong Il's Funeral Goes Viral.
While rumours are doing round around Kim's alleged death, a top security adviser to the South's President Moon Jae-in said that the North Korean leader is "alive and well". "Our government position is firm," said Moon's special adviser on national security Moon Chung-in, in an interview with CNN on Sunday. "Kim Jong Un is alive and well." There are disputed reports about Kim's health condition.
Speculations over Kim's heath rife after he did not appear in a key ceremony commemorating the 108th birth anniversary of Kim Il-sung on April 15. He has never skipped his trip to the mausoleum since taking office in late 2011. According to Japanese media, Kim Jong Un is in a "vegetative state". Reports in the Chinese media said Beijing had dispatched a team to North Korea to advise on Kim's health.
A Hong Kong-backed news channel's vice director, who's apparently the niece of a Chinese foreign minister, said Kim is dead. LatestLY could not verify the claim. Earlier this week, the US media had reported that the North Korean leader was gravely ill following heart surgery. A CNN report, citing a US official, had said that Washington was looking into intelligence that Kim was in "grave danger" after a surgery.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 27, 2020 09:55 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).