• Asia: First public appearance of leader Kim Jong-un in almost 3 weeks after rumors of his death
  • North Korea: The other disappearances of the Kim saga

In the end, the dead man was very much alive. Chapter closed. Or not. Because it has happened again: the inability to scratch verified information from the hermetic regime of North Korea has given rise to burying the last of the Kim saga prematurely.

Only the mysterious disappearance of a dictator of whom we do not even know his real age could compete in attention with the coronavirus monotheme. There have been three weeks of absence that have given for many theories : a cardiac operation for his obesity and smoking; a death that supposedly took to announce because it was necessary to look for a successor; a hidden dictator of the coronavirus in a luxury resort ...

In the end, Kim Jong-un has reappeared and the obituaries have been put back in the drawer as it happened in 2012 and 2014. Kim has opened a fertilizer factory in the city of Sunchon , 50 kilometers northeast of Pyongyang. Smiling and in a black suit. He did not even carry a cane or any sign of having undergone surgery. At least, it is what can be seen in the images that the official media of North Korea have left us.

The state news agency KCNA has reported that the North Korean leader cut the ribbon on Friday at the factory opening. He even details that those present "erupted in thunderous cheers of hooray" when Kim appeared. And he didn't do it alone. He was accompanied by several senior North Korean officials. Some wore face masks. There was even her sister Kim Yo Jong , whose name has made headlines these days, linking her as the possible successor.

The photographs released have been so calculated that one shows the leader under a banner dated May 1. North Korean propaganda does not want there to be any doubts. They have also released a video of Kim walking around the factory as employees raise their flags and cheer for him.

Last public appearance

These last 21 days have given for many speculations, false information and denials. All the protagonists and actors close to this story have wanted to contribute something. From the most prudent voices of the South Korean authorities, who have insisted over and over that they had not detected "anything unusual in Kim Jong-un's state of health." Stumbled from Washington to deny that Kim was wrong but leaving some door open. And others who wanted to join the round of opinions on the subject at the last minute, such as the director of the Taiwan National Security Office, Chiu Kuo-cheng , who said Thursday that the North Korean leader was ill.

To understand a bit of the commotion these days, you have to go to the beginning of everything, after the leader's absence on April 15, on the 108th anniversary of the birth of the country's founder, Kim Il Sung , one of the most important events of the year. . The Seoul-based daily newspaper 'NK' run by North Korean defectors had reported three days earlier that the North Korean leader had undergone surgery on April 12 for a cardiovascular condition. Kim was last seen in public on April 11 , when he chaired a meeting of the Workers' Party.

In his blog, Andray Abrahamian , a non-resident member of the Economic Institute of Korea and with a doctorate in North Korean media, gave a very interesting note explaining how, normally, this information with anonymous sources that come out of this newspaper is usually taken with pliers by the international media. And, many times, they are not even published outside of South Korea. But this time something different happened. It was a prestigious media outlet like CNN that went one step further : "American source: North Korean leader in serious danger after surgery," read one headline.

Kim's alleged letters

Then the rumors shot up. Reuters said last Saturday that China had sent military doctors to North Korea. Something he remembered when in 2008, Kim Jong-il , the father of the current leader, suffered a stroke and was treated by Chinese doctors. Japan and Hong Kong media said he was deceased. From South Korea, another newspaper pointed out that it was in a "vegetative state." Even yesterday, many echoed the statements of a guy named Ji Seong-ho , a deserter lawyer from North Korea, who firmly stated that Kim Jong-un has passed away.

While all these rumors were spreading, since the North Korean dictatorship, the main newspaper, Rodong Sinmun , published supposed letters written by Kim. Like one sent Monday to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulating him on Freedom Day, or a message of thanks to a group of workers in the country who are building a resort in Wonsan. The dictator's private train was located in several places thanks to satellite images analyzed by experts from 38 North, a Washington-based monitoring newspaper for North Korea.

"Listen more to Seoul"

Leif-Eric Easley , professor of international studies at Ewha University in Seoul, explains in 'The Guardian' that Kim's disappearance has highlighted that the world is unprepared for instability in North Korea. "Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo need tighter coordination on contingency plans. If the photos of Kim's reappearance are authentic, one lesson is that the world should listen more to the South Korean government and less to unidentified sources and rumors, "adds the professor.

Officially, from South Korea they have always had it clear. Moon Chung-in , one of the top national security advisers to the South Korean government, already noted on April 26 that "Kim Jong-un is alive and well. He has been in the Wonsan area since April 13. Not until now suspicious movements have been detected. " The same idea was influenced by Kim Yeon Chul , Unification Minister of South Korea.

Now, after Kim's reappearance, speculation is over. Surely, we will never know what has really happened during these three weeks of public absence of the North Korean leader.

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