South Korea Spy Agency Says No Signs North Korea’s Kim Received Heart Surgery

There are no signs North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received heart surgery when he disappeared from state media for three weeks.
South Korea Spy Agency Says No Signs North Korea’s Kim Received Heart Surgery
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) visits a fertilizer factory in Sunchon, South Pyongan province, near Pyongyang, North Korea, in this May 1, 2020, photo provided by the North Korean regime. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP
Reuters
Updated:

SEOUL—There are no signs North Korean leader Kim Jong Un received heart surgery when he disappeared from state media for three weeks, but he reduced public activity due to CCP virus concerns, South Korean lawmakers briefed by the spy agency said on Wednesday.

Kim attended the completion of a fertilizer plant, North Korea’s official media said on Saturday, the first report of his appearing in public since April 11.

His absence fueled a flurry of speculation about his health and whereabouts, with a South Korean news outlet reporting Kim was recovering from a cardiovascular procedure, while CNN said U.S. officials were monitoring intelligence he was “in grave danger” after surgery.

Members of South Korea’s parliamentary intelligence committee said after a meeting with the National Intelligence Service (NIS) that the reports were “groundless.”

“The NIS assesses that at least he did not get any heart-related procedure or surgery,” committee member Kim Byung-kee told reporters. “He was normally performing his duties when he was out of the public eye.”

“At least there’s no heart-related health problem.”

But the lawmaker said Kim Jong Un only made 17 public appearances so far this year, compared with an average of 50 from previous years, which the NIS ascribed to a possible Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus outbreak in North Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) cuts a tape, watched by his sister Kim Yo Jong, during his visit to a fertilizer factory in Sunchon, near Pyongyang, North Korea, in this May 1, 2020, photo provided by North Korean state media. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (C) cuts a tape, watched by his sister Kim Yo Jong, during his visit to a fertilizer factory in Sunchon, near Pyongyang, North Korea, in this May 1, 2020, photo provided by North Korean state media. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP

“Kim Jong Un had focused on consolidating internal affairs such as military forces and party-state meetings, and coronavirus concerns have further limited his public activity,” Kim Byung-kee said.

“Though North Korea maintains it has zero cases, it cannot be ruled out that there is an outbreak there given they had active people-to-people exchanges with China before closing the border in late January.”

North Korea has said it has no confirmed cases. South Korea’s Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, who oversees North Korea affairs, has said Kim’s public disappearance was not particularly unusual because the country had been taking stringent steps to head off an outbreak.

The lawmaker said Kim Jong Un had ordered measures to prevent the disease, stabilize prices, and strengthen military discipline, as border shutdowns and market closures prompted rises in food prices and panic-buying in the capital Pyongyang.

Kim’s visit to the fertilizer factory appeared to be aimed at expressing his resolve to ease food shortages and build a self-reliant economy, Kim Byung-kee noted.

By Hyonhee Shin
Epoch Times staff contributed to this report.