“There is no confirmation”: the State Duma commented on rumors about Kim Jong-un’s health problems

Kazbek Taysaev, a deputy of the State Duma from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, said that he met with the North Korean ambassador to Russia about 10 days ago, and he did not report a deterioration in the state of health of the country's leader Kim Jong-un. Thus, the deputy commented on rumors in a number of media about a serious illness or death of the head of the DPRK.

“We have fairly close contacts. I discussed these news topics with him and did not receive any confirmation, ”Interfax quoted him as saying.

Taisaev clarified that the Russian side relies only on verified information and official data.

Messages about the worsening health status of Kim Jong-un began to appear in the world media in April. Recall that the head of the DPRK from the 11th does not go to the public, having missed, in particular, the ceremony on the occasion of the 108th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung.

CNN, citing an American official whose name is not disclosed, said that Kim Jong-un’s condition allegedly worsened after surgery. Another channel source said that information about the health risks of Kim Jong-un is trustworthy, adding that it is still difficult to assess the severity of his condition. 

US Presidential National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien said Washington is closely monitoring reports on the health status of the North Korean leader.

At the same time, a number of American media, citing satellite images, reported that a train belonging, according to journalists, Kim Jong-un, was standing near the resort town of Wonsan. Earlier it was reported that the resort is a villa of Kim Jong-un, in whose territory there is a medical facility. In addition, information appeared in the media that China sent a delegation including doctors to North Korea.

In turn, the Japanese media wrote that the head of the DPRK had surgery on the cardiovascular system. The weekly Sukang Gendai published material stating that Kim Jong-un may be in a “vegetative state” after the operation.

In addition, on April 25, a message from the Hong Kong television vice director HKSTV about the death of the head of North Korea appeared on Weibo's Chinese social network. She said that the death of the leader of the DPRK was reported by "a very solid source."

It is worth noting that at the moment there is no reliable evidence of information about the state of health of the leader of the DPRK.

At the same time, on April 26, the DPRK central radio extended the congratulations of Kim Jong-un to the builders of Samzhiyyon. In turn, the South Korean agency "Ronhap" noted that the date of recording the congratulations is unknown.

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Konstantin Asmolov, a researcher at the Center for Korean Studies at the Institute of the Far East of the Russian Academy of Sciences, commenting on reports from the American media, recalled that in only a third of cases an anonymous source is really a person who does not want to reveal his name, in other cases, such a presentation of information involves a targeted throw. The expert noted that any news about North Korea should begin by figuring out who is the source of the information.

“What is in the dry residue. Firstly, the absence of Kim Jong-un for a long time, including at a ceremonial event in honor of his grandfather. Secondly, moderately confirmed rumors that a plane flew to Pyongyang with doctors, although they could fly in not only to treat Kim, but also to discuss a joint fight against coronavirus, ”he said in a conversation with RT.

Asmolov recalled that in 2014, Kim Jong-un also did not appear in public for a month and a half, after which it turned out that he had problems with his ankle.

“Two principles work here: we will believe that everything is in order with Kim when we see his new photo, and we will believe that he died when we see the solemn obituary,” the expert added.

In turn, Svetlana Suslina, a professor at the Department of World Economy at MGIMO, in an interview with RT, admitted that the leader of North Korea can now recover from the operation.

“With regard to the current situation, it is difficult to make an accurate forecast, because Kim Jong-un is not a very healthy person, like his father. It can be assumed that there was either an operation or some kind of disease, ”she said.

She also recalled that Kim Jong-un and the President of the Republic of Korea exchanged letters and expressed their support for the coronavirus.

“This was relatively recent, but, of course, only the president did not necessarily participate in the exchange of letters, his staff is preparing documents. But still I think that this was done by agreement of the authorities, ”she added.