Adding another twist to the ongoing controversy regarding the disappearance of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, a former state official has said that Kim might have sustained grievous injuries during a missile test conducted on April 14.
Kim's disappearance from the public eye, coupled with radio silence from North Korean authorities, has led to the global speculations of the country's supreme leader either being 'gravely ill' or dead. Kim's absence from the birthday celebrations of his grandfather and North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung, on April 15, rang alarm in North Korea.
Video footage of missile test conducted on April 14 remains unreleased
The latest development came after a former high ranking official of Room 39, an organization run by the Workers' Party of North Korea, pointed out that the authorities have refused to part with the video footage of missile tests conducted on April 14.
In an article written for The Dong-A-Ilbo, Lee Jeong Ho, who defected from North Korea to the United States, said that missile tests, especially the ones carried out on April 14, are not conducted until the commander-in-chief gives the go-ahead. Since the missile tests were carried out, it is possible that Kim was well until 7 a.m.
"Kim was absent from the reports of the tests while no footage of the missile launch and the training of combat aircraft was released, which points to a possibility of an unexpected accident that might have been caused by debris or fire," told Lee to the publication.
The former state official further expressed that it is possible that Kim might have fallen ill shortly after the missile launch."'Rodong Sinmun or the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee cannot publish footage of missile tests without the permission of Kim," quoted the paper.
Former NK official says rumours about Kim's death are fake
Talking about the strong rumours about Kim being brain dead after the botched up heart surgery, Lee said they 'did not seem accurate or credible.' "Kim Jong Un's doctors are all from the Bonghwa hospital in Pyongyang, and other hospitals do not have first doctors," he commented on the reports of first doctors from other hospitals at the Hyangsan hospital near Mount Myohayng performing the surgery on the North Korean leader.
Displaying its military capabilities, North Korea launched multiple cruise missiles into the sea and Sukhoi jets fired air-to-surface missiles a day before the birthday celebrations of Kim's late grandfather, Kim Il-sung, an event which the dictator never missed since he came to power in 2011.
The projectiles were fired from sites near Munchon and neighboring Wonsan, a port city where Kim is rumoured to have taken refuge after his cardiovascular surgery. It is also the same place where a train belonging to the North Korean dictator was found parked via a satellite image.
