North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un's alleged absence before this week's mass parade has sparked rumors about his health.

Kim Jong Un may not attend the mass parade in the capital of North Korea, Pyongyang, because he has not been seen in public for one month. According to media sources, Kim Jong Un skipped his third Polibuto meeting.

Kim Jong Un Rumored Health Issue

This is Kim's second-longest public absence since 2014 when he vanished for forty days. In May 2021 and April 2020, he took shorter vacations. According to NK News, the Politburo meeting was headed by the North Korean leader's right-hand man, Jo Wong Won.

As the nation prepares for the mass parades that will be placed on Tuesday and Wednesday, it remains to be known if Kim Jong Un will participate in the parade. The marches would commemorate the 75th anniversary of the foundation of the Korean People's Army.

However, the parade may be used by the supreme leader to display the latest nuclear weapons and missiles from North Korea's expanding nuclear weapons and missile program, which is also a major concern for the United States and its Asian allies.

According to Republic World, Kim Jong Un disappeared for about six weeks in 2014 before reappearing with a walking stick. After his disappearance, rumors circulated that he had surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle, as the South Korean intelligence agency alleged.

However, the most plausible explanation was that Kim had sequestered himself due to the coronavirus outbreak. Kim Jong Un was last seen in public in April 2022, during a big civilian parade honoring the birthday of the nation's founder, Kim Il-sung.

According to North Korean media, Kim could be seen waving from a balcony overlooking the expansive square in Pyongyang named for his grandfather, Kim Il-sung. At the same time, massive columns of people holding red plastic flowers and floats bearing political slogans marched.

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North Korea's 75th Founding Anniversary

Fox News stated that the parade commemorating the 75th foundation anniversary of the Korean People's Army is anticipated to take place on Tuesday or Wednesday. It is unknown if Kim Jong Un will emerge from hiding and make an appearance.

Kim may use the ceremony to display the newest components of his expanding nuclear weapons and missile program, a source of concern for the United States and its Asian allies.

As it blasted US plans to increase its joint drill with South Korea and deploy more advanced military equipment like bombers and aircraft carriers to the area, North Korea promised this week to confront US military maneuvers with the "most overwhelming nuclear force."

North Korea launched around seventy ballistic missiles in 2022, including possibly nuclear-capable missiles aimed at attacking South Korean or US mainland targets. It also launched what it characterized as simulated nuclear assaults on South Korean and US sites in retaliation for the Trump administration's downsizing of enhanced US military drills with South Korea.

This month, a new North Korean propaganda video highlighting last year's 'worst-ever sufferings' depicted their authoritarian leader limping down a flight of stairs. This latest lengthy absence from public view has renewed fears about Kim Jong Un's health and a possible successor.

According to a state media website, Kim Jong Un's absence from the public for 35 days coincides with another period of non-presence towards the end of 2021. Since January, satellite footage from the US-based monitoring site 38 North indicates that preparations for commemorating the founding of the Korean People's Army have been taking place in cold temperatures.

Per Daily Mail, low-flying military planes have been observed at night in central Pyongyang. Recent public celebrations in North Korea have been staged in the dark because of concerns about food shortages. The country has also lately had to cope with the collapse of the uranium mine that supplies North Korea's nuclear weapons; the severity of the tragedy is evident from space.

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