A media report in South Korea reported that the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who is receiving treatment after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure early this month, had deteriorated amid speculation about Kim's health after his absence from an important annual event.
North Korea celebrated the birthday of its founder Kim Il-sung, the grandfather of the current leader, on April 15, but Kim's name was not mentioned in the audience.
The Daily NK website, which is run mostly by North Korean defectors, quoted sources inside North Korea as saying that Kim was recovering in a villa in Huangsan County on the country's eastern coast after he underwent a medical procedure in a hospital there on April 12.
South Korea's Ministry of Unity declined to comment on the report.
The website report said Kim's health had deteriorated in the past few months due to heavy smoking, obesity and overwork.
"What I understood is that he has had (heart and blood vessel problems) since August, but the matter got worse after his repeated visits to Mount Paektu," the report quoted a source as saying.
He added that Kim went to the hospital after he chaired a meeting of the ruling Labor Party political office on April 11, and this was the last time the North Korean leader was seen in public.
Pyongyang launched several short-range missiles last week, and South Korean officials said it came as part of Kim Il Sung's birthday celebration. Kim usually pursues such military events on his own, but the Korean Central News Agency has not released a report on the rocket fire.