(Photo : KCNA/via REUTERS)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends the completion of a fertiliser plant, in a region north of the capital, Pyongyang, in this image released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on May 2, 2020.
After his first public appearance for almost three weeks last Saturday, speculations continue to surround the health and condition of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. However, according to South Korean officials, Jong-un did not appear to have undergone any medical procedure.
In a video released by the North, the Supreme Leader was seen smiling and moving around during the ribbon-cutting ceremony of a fertilizer factory near Pyongyang. Yet, it did not stop observers from raising an eyebrow and having suspicions about how Jong-un looked stiff while walking around the facility.
According to a South Korean government official, the South's government believes that there was not any indication that a medical procedure was performed on the rogue nation's leader. The speculations of surgery came after Jong-un's disappearance from the public eye, leading others to believe that he had heart surgery.
The North, however, has not made any statements yet on the dictator's absence. They also did not make any comments on why he missed the country's most important holiday, the birthday of his grandfather and founder of the North, Kim Il Sung on April 15.
His absence from the ceremony sparked the different theories regarding his conditions. The theories included his deteriorating health, a missile testing gone awry, and even his possible death.
Jong-un, who is the third generation of his family to lead the nation has not missed any April 15 or Day of the Sun celebration. Thus, this leads to fears of him developing illness and also causing other nations to worry about instability in his country and their nuclear arsenal.
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The Hermit Kingdom is known to exert extreme control over leadership information. This makes it impossible for an outsider to have access to senior-level information. However, the South Korean government said that the images of the dictator at the fertilizer plant are legitimate.
Since Jong-un disappeared from the public eye, the South Korean government has been very firm that he was alive. They even stated on Fox News over the weekend that the dictator was staying outside the capital, and was in Wonsan since the 13th of April, and that there have been detected in the nation.
The health of the dictator
Despite his iron-fist rule, the North Korean dictator has had a history of health issues in the past. Back in 2014, he also disappeared from public for more than a month, and when he reappeared he was using an electric cart and is using a cane for support when he walks. Six days after which, the South's spy agency said that a cyst was removed from his ankle.
On Saturday, footage from North Korea also showed Jong-un riding the same electric cart he used in 2015.
At the moment, Jong-un has not appointed a successor yet. However, there has been news that his sister and close companion Kim Yo Jong may be next in line after rumors about his health spread.
The dictator's disappearance caused civil unrest in the Hermit Kingdom, which also triggered worries about the stability of the leadership in the North, especially with their nuclear arsenal.
Related article: Kim Jong-un Makes First Public Appearance After Weeks of Evading Public Eye
