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| North Korea's high-ranking officials attend a ceremony marking the birth of Kim Il-sung, the country's founding leader and the grandfather of current leader Kim Jong-un, at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang, April 15, in this photo released by the country's state-run Korean Central News Agency. Following the absence of Kim Jong-un from the ceremony, speculations over his whereabouts and his health have mounted, but high-ranking South Korean government officials said the government is "confident" that Kim is "alive and well." Yonhap |
By Jung Da-min
Amid numerous media reports from outside the Korean Peninsula speculating on the whereabouts and health of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, high-profile officials from South Korea maintain that Kim is "okay."
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| Moon Chung-in, the special adviser for unification, foreign and security affairs to President Moon Jae-in, speaks during a forum on the peace process of the Korean Peninsula, at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, April 20. Yonhap |
"Kim Jong-un is alive and well," Moon Chung-in, special adviser for unification, foreign and security affairs to President Moon Jae-in, told The Korea Times, Monday. "He has been staying in Wonsan since April 13, and the South Korean government has not detected any suspicious signs."
The special adviser said it is not unusual for Kim to be out of the public eye for long periods of time. "North Korean media will feature photos of Kim at some point. There was a case in which Kim disappeared from the public eye for 40 days (in 2014). This year also he has disappeared for periods of 10, 13 and 23 days."
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The South's Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-chul also showed the government's confidence that there is nothing unusual about Kim's activities, saying recent rumors seem to be an "infodemic," a term for an excessive amount of information concerning a problem which makes the solution more difficult.
"The government has enough information-gathering capabilities to say confidently that there has been no unusual activity in the North," Minister Kim said during a forum held on Sunday, referring to an earlier announcement from Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Council last week.
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| Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul speaks during a government meeting to promote inter-Korean exchange at the Government Complex Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap |
Backing the theory of Kim Jong-un's suspected stay in Wonsan, commercial satellite images published on the website of 38 North, which is affiliated with Washington-based think tank Stimson Center, showed that a train probably belonging to the North's leader has been parked in a compound in the Wonsan area since at least April 21.
"The train's presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country's east coast," a report on the 38 North website said, featuring the satellite images. "The approximately 250-meter-long train, although partially covered by the station's roof, can be seen at a railway station reserved for use by the Kim family. It was not present on April 15 but was present on both April 21 and 23."
Regarding repeated suspicions and dubious reports about Kim's health, a government source said such rumors are the "wishful thinking" of people who oppose the Kim regime. "Such thinking and speculations come from people who believe their political goal will be attained when the North faces contingency and the country undergoes changes," the source said.
In the meantime, North Korea's state media outlets are keeping to their usual routine in reporting the leader's activities, but without photos or videos of him it's not enough to dismiss the suspicions about his health.
On Monday, the Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), reported Kim sent a thank-you message to workers of the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Area construction project in Kangwon Province.
The last time his photos were released was in an April 12 report by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), which said Kim visited a pursuit assault plane group under the Air and Anti-Aircraft Division in the country's western region.
With images of Kim missing from North Korean state media since then, speculations were mounting over his physical condition especially due to his absence from a floral tribute ceremony at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang on April 15, when the country marked the 108th birthday of his grandfather Kim Il-sung, the founding leader of North Korea.
