North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "alive and well", Moon Chung-in, Special Advisor to South Korean President Moon Jae-in for Foreign Affairs and National Security, told CNN on Sunday, Trend reports citing TASS.
"Our government position is firm," he stressed. "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," the advisor added.
Earlier, North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun central newspaper reported that Kim Jong-un continues to work with documents as he sent a letter of gratitude to construction workers of the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area.
CNN previously cited a US administration source to claim that Washington was studying intelligence that said that the North Korean leader’s health had deteriorated dramatically after a surgery. US President Donald Trump told a briefing that he had data that proved that media reports are false. South Korean authorities also said there was no information proving that Kim Jong-un had an illness, while the Chinese foreign ministry expressed doubts about the CNN source. These claims are also yet to be proven by informed sources in Pyongyang.
The North Korean leader has not been seen in public since April 11 when he chaired a meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Politburo centered around issues of domestic policies. In particular, Kim Jong-un missed the annual session of the Supreme People’s Assembly on April 12 and, for the first time since his ascension to power, did not take part in a celebratory ceremony held in the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on April 15 marking the 108th anniversary of Km Jong-un’s grandfather and founder of North Korea Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-un’s notable absence among the North Korean leadership at the most important event for the country gave rise to rumors that he might be ill. However, North Korean officials and media outlets are not commenting on these rumors.