Speculation continues around the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The day after his reappearance in public, after three weeks of absence, a senior South Korean official said on Sunday, May 3, that he would not have undergone surgery.

"President Kim would not have been operated on," said a senior official in the South Korean presidential office who has not been identified, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Kim Jong-un attended the inauguration of a fertilizer factory in Sunchon, near Pyongyang, on Saturday, along with dignitaries and his sister and adviser, Kim Yo-jong. It was his first official appearance since April 11.

In one of the official photos, we can see the North Korean leader, dressed in his usual black costume, cutting a red ribbon, his sister and other North Korean leaders appearing in the background, without it being possible to 'authenticate this apparition.

A mystery around his health

The health of the North Korean leader was the subject of multiple speculations since his absence on April 15 at ceremonies commemorating the birth of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, founder of the North Korean regime.

The state of health of the North Korean leader is an extremely well-kept state secret, in a country known to be opaque to foreigners, and where press freedom does not exist.

In 2011, it had taken two days after Kim Jong-il's death for the information to come out of the very closed circle of dignitaries in Pyongyang. In 2014, his son and successor Kim Jong-un disappeared from traffic for almost six weeks, then reappeared with a cane. After several days, the South Korean intelligence services assured him that he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst on his ankle.

Another subject of speculation: the coronavirus epidemic, which has hit hard the two neighboring countries of North Korea, China and South Korea. Pyongyang said no cases have been reported in a country that has closed its borders and is taking the strictest precautions against the disease.

With AFP

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