Days after stating the reports related to Kim Jong Un being gravely ill are incorrect, US President Donald Trump said that he is aware of Kim's health status but, won't disclose.
On Monday, addressing the White House media interaction, when asked about Kim's status, Trump said: "I can't tell you exactly - yes, I do have a very good idea but I can't talk about it now. I just wish him well."
"I have had a very good relationship with Kim Jong Un. If I weren't president you would be... You would have been in war with Korea. You would have been in war with North Korea if I wasn't president that I can tell you. He expected that. That I can tell you," Trump said.
"I hope he's fine. I do know how he's doing relatively speaking. We will see You will probably be hearing in the not-too-distant future," continued Trump, while evading about how he knew about the tyrant's status. Here are popular theories regarding Kim Jong Un's disappearance from the public eye after April 11
Kim is gravely ill after a cardiovascular surgery
Daily NK, a Seoul-based website, reported that Kim had undergone a cardiovascular procedure on April 12. In its report published on April 20, the outlet reported that Kim needed the procedure due to "excessive smoking, obesity, and overwork" and was treated at the Hyangsan Medical Center on the outskirts of Pyongyang.
Hours after the article was published CNN reported that the US was monitoring intelligence that suggested the North Korean leader was gravely ill after the cardiovascular surgery. Trump shot down the report stating that it was incorrect and based on old documents.
North Korean leader in a vegetative state following surgery
Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai reported that a Chinese medical team member was sent to North Korea to offer advice on Kim's health. The medical expert revealed to the magazine while visiting the countryside on April 12, Kim clutched his chest and fell to the ground. A doctor, accompanying him at the time, immediately performed CPR in an attempt to revive him before rushing him to a nearby hospital for emergency treatment.
However, before the arrival of the Chinese medical team, the inexperienced doctor conducted a botched-up cardiac surgery to insert a heart stent which left Kim in a vegetative state.
Kim Jong Un is in hiding trying to avoid coronavirus
The Seoul-based JoongAng Daily newspaper stated that Kim is under self-imposed quarantine after one of his bodyguards was tested positive for the fatal coronavirus. "With many members of the Korean Workers' Party placed in quarantine after being suspected of infected with the fatal virus, Kim might have been evacuated to Wonsan for safety purposes," Newsis reported.
Citing an unnamed US official, South Korean newspaper, Dong-A Ilbo, reported that Kim had left Pyongyang for a resort compound in the seaside city of Wonsan to avoid the virus after some of Kim's close aides and high-ranking officials had tested positive for coronavirus
Kim Jong Un injured in missile test on April 14
Lee Jeong Ho, a former high ranking official of Room 39, an organization run by the Workers' Party of North Korea, said that Kim might have sustained grievous injuries during the tests of short-range cruise missiles conducted at sites near Munchon and neighbouring Wonsan on April 14.
In an article written for The Dong-A-Ilbo, Lee said: "Kim was absent from the reports of the tests while no footage of the missile launch and the training of combat aircrafts was released, which points to a possibility of an unexpected accident that might have been caused by debris or fire." Stating that it was possible that Kim might have been injured soon after the launch, he said: "Rodong Sinmun or the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee cannot publish footage of missile tests without the permission of Kim."
US Spy planed spotted Kim Jong Un taking a walk in Wonsan
Dong-A Ilbo reported that the North Korean leader was spotted taking a walk on his own, by the US authorities. "It has been identified that Kim Jong Un had been staying in Wonsan during the entire last week. He was seen to be walking on his own between April 15 and 20," it reported. The publication further said that the 'US authorities seem to have identified such information based on the analysis of radars and images captured by reconnaissance planes.'
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is dead
The news of Kim Jong Un death was first announced on Weibo by Vice director of Beijing-backed HKSTV Hong Kong Satellite Television. The HKSTV official, who is also a niece of a Chinese foreign minister told her 15 million followers on Weibo that her Kim Jong Un death claim was backed by a "very solid source."
Newsweek, citing an unnamed senior Pentagon official reported: 'While the US continues to monitor reports surrounding the health of the North Korean Supreme Leader, at this time, there is no confirmation from official channels that Kim Jong Un is deceased. North Korean military readiness remains within historical norms and there is no further evidence to suggest a significant change in defensive posturing or national level leadership changes.'
An image claiming Kim Jong Un lying dead inside a glass coffin also went viral on social media sites.
South Korea says Kim is alive and well
In an interview with Fox News, Chung-in Moon, foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that his government's position is firm that the North Korean leader is not dead. "Our government position is firm. Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected," he said.
Kim Jong Un writes diplomatic letters from an unknown place
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) has claimed that Kim Jong Un has sent diplomatic letters to Syrian President Bashar as-Assad and Cuban Cuban President Miguel Mario Diaz-Canel Bermudez on his 60th birthday.
The state media said: "Kim Jong Un, in his message, expressed his deep thanks to the president of the Syrian Arab Republic for sending his heartfelt message of greeting, reflecting the warm respect for President Kim Il Sung, who is always alive in the hearts of the Korean people and the world progressives, on the occasion of his 108th birth anniversary."
The state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun, also stated the North Korean ruler has sent a personal letter to workers on a project in the city of Wonsan.
