26 April 2020

Kim Jung-un latest: He's not dead but alive and well at his holiday home, says South Korean official

The latest twist in the mystery over the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is the suggestion that he is alive and well and staying at one of his many holiday homes.

South Korea's foreign policy adviser Chung-in Moon said his government's position is firmly that the despot is not dead.

Moon claims Kim has been living in the Wonsan area of the country since April 13, and told Fox News: “No suspicious movements have so far been detected.”

The rumours that Kim may already be dead surfaced over the weekend as vice director of Hong Kong Satellite Television Shijian Xingzou, revealed a 'very solid source' told her the North Korean leader had died.

Other sources suggested he was in a vegetative state after an operation that had gone wrong.

But North Korean defectors dismissed the growing rumours that Kim was dead.

Joo Sung-ha, a defector turned journalist, said in a Facebook post reported by the New York Times it was reasonable to believe Kim had health problems.

However, he wrote he had zero trust in any of the reports as information about Kim's health is such a closely guarded secret..

"The health of the Kim family is the secret among secrets," he said.

Thae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat, who also defected, said it was hard to believe any reliable information had been leaked by Kim's inner circle.

He said that while he worked in the country no one was aware of Kim Jong-il's death until 2011 when they were called to an auditorium and saw an announcer dressed in black.

South Korea's claim that Kim is in Wonsan came as a train was was spotted at the leader's private railway station near to his holiday home in the resort.

The best videos delivered daily

Watch the stories that matter, right from your inbox