Kim Jong-un: North Korea media ‘unusually silent’ amid growing speculation on health

Unconfirmed reports spark international speculation that North Korean leader is gravely ill

North Korean state media has been "unusually silent" on the health or whereabouts of its leader Kim Jong-un after a day of intense international speculation sparked by media reports claiming he was gravely ill.

Daily NK, a website based in Seoul, South Korea, reported late on Monday that Mr Kim was hospitalised on 12 April, hours before a cardiovascular procedure.

However, the English-language version of the report, which has not been confirmed, said the story was based on a single unnamed source in North Korea.

State media has presented a “business as usual” image, with routine reporting on Mr Kim’s supposed achievements and some of his older, or undated, comments on issues.

Mr Kim’s name was plastered all over the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper as usual, but there were no reports on his whereabouts.

Meanwhile, South Korean and Chinese officials, along with sources familiar with US intelligence, have cast doubt on media reports claiming Mr Kim is seriously ill.

Donald Trump, who held summits with the North Korean leader in 2018 and 2019, said he did not put much credence in the reports.

“We’ll see how he does,” Mr Trump told a White House news conference on Tuesday.

“We don't know if the reports are true.”

A spokesperson for South Korea's presidential Blue House said they could not confirm Mr Kim's whereabouts, or whether he had undergone surgery, and added South Korea had detected no unusual activity in its neighbouring country.

Speculation about the North Korean leader’s health was first sparked by his absence from the anniversary of the birthday of the country’s founding father and Mr Kim’s grandfather, Kim II Sung, on 15 April.

The Daily NK report claimed Mr Kim’s health had deteriorated since August due to heavy smoking, obesity and overwork, and said he was now receiving treatment at a villa in the Mount Myohyang resort north of the capital of Pyongyang.

“It does look like something is going on, based on the repeated absences of last week,” Chad O’Carroll, CEO of the Korea Risk Group, said.

“A health issue seems to be the most logical explanation for all this, but whether or not it's cardiac-related seems to be too early to tell.”

Other North Korea experts have cautioned that it is difficult to find hard facts on Mr Kim’s condition, but noted that his absence at major celebrations for his grandfather’s birthday signalled something was wrong.

Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean deputy ambassador to the UK who defected to South Korea in 2016, said the state media's extended silence was unusual because it had been quick to dispel questions about the status of its leadership in the past.

“Every time there is controversy about [Mr Kim], North Korea would take action within days to show he is alive and well,” he said in a statement.

His absence from the 15 April anniversary ceremony, in particular, was “unprecedented”, Mr Thae said.

Additional reporting by Reuters