For two weeks now, in his lailapa coronavirus that plagues the planet, another thriller is being recorded.
Rumors are circulating about the North Korean leader's state of health, even referring to his possible death.
The bizarre story, both in size and secrecy, even began with a report by a single source, sent by Twitter in frenzy.
Is Kim Jong Un brain dead? Is he just recovering from a successful operation? He hides to get rid of it Covid-19; Or is something else going on?
Once again, as is usually the case with news outlets in the isolated country, no one really knows what is going on. This is boldly admitted by those who have no interest in North Korea's internal affairs.
The US, officially at least, has no idea. This was recently stated by Mike Pompeo. "We have not seen him. "We have no information to give today, we are following it closely," he told Fox News.
But Moscow does not have information about Kim either, stressing through the mouth of the representative of the Russian President, Dmitry Peshkov, that the Kremlin has no official information about Kim's health condition.
On the other, former Pyongyang diplomat who resigned and now lives in South Korea, he told CNN that "Kim Jong Un can not get up on his own or walk normally."
Stressing, however, that "very few people really have a knowledge of reality."
In the latest episode of the thriller and after weeks without a trace of the leader, Kim reappeared. On paper at least.
The KCNA (Korean Central News Agency) state network is obviously an indication of the pressure the country is feeling to give some signs of its leader's life published a letter dated 27 April 2020, by Kim Jong Un to the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramafoza, on the occasion of the Independence Day of the African nation.
Although such letters are common in world diplomacy, there is a problem here. For the past 16 years, he has been the No. 2 North Korean chairman of the Supreme People's Assembly (Choe Ryong Hae today), wishing South Africans a Happy Independence Day.
Why did this change this year? South Korea, however, has claimed that Kim is not in any danger. The Minister for Unification, Kim Yeon Chul, stated on April 27 that his country "It has enough information to say with certainty that there are no unusual developments" in North Korea.
The same day, in the briefing of the White House, Donald Trump repeated his wishes for Kim, adding meaningfully that he may know more about his condition than he says.
"I wish him well," he said. "I know what he's doing, talking about it. We will see, you will probably hear not so far in the future ".
It was the Daily NK news website run by people who have surrendered from North Korea, which claimed on April 21 how Kim underwent heart surgery and is recovering. U.S. diplomatic sources later told CNN that the leader was in "serious danger" of complications to his health.
And then the internet caught fire! Kim Jong Un was now brain dead, in a coma, struck by the coronavirus, you pick and choose. Secret services, international observers, all came into play. Within a few hours came the first sober answer, but no one heard it.
"We have been trapped in this coronavirus news cycle for so long," said Go Myong-hyun, an academic researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies. Seoul"Most of us, not only the media but also the foreign policy experts dealing with North Korea, have had little news from North Korea in recent months. And so when we heard this information that something happened in Pyongyang, we fell on it. "
It all started when Kim was emphatically absent from the celebrations for the birth anniversary of his grandfather and founder of the People's Republic on April 15. Kim has never missed the "Day of the Sun", the most important day in the country, dedicated to Kim Il Sung, since he took over the reins in 2011.
"It's hard to explain North Korea, they have their own patterns that give us expectations," said John Delury, a professor of Asian studies at Seoul University.
"The model we are waiting for is that Kim Jong Un will appear on the anniversary of his grandfather's birth. And when that did not happen, it opened the door to all sorts of rumors. "
Officials in China and South Korea, however, deny that anything bad has happened to the North Korean leader, calling on the world to wait for some official information from the Hermetic kingdom.
"There is nothing to confirm about the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as has recently been reported in the media. "So far, nothing special has been observed inside North Korea," said Kang Min-seok, a spokesman for South Korea's presidential office.
But as North Korean researchers and journalists have noted, the story is not entirely up to date. There must be some basis, we just do not know what.
According to the Daily NK, he underwent heart surgery, a possibility that experts consider valid. Kim, who is believed to be 36 years old, is not in good shape, smokes a lot and according to his body mass index, is considered "extremely obese».
In my book “The Great
Successor, ”I wrote that Kim Jong Un's biggest risk
factor was his obvious poor health - and in particular the risk of
cardiac problems.Kim Jong Un is five feet, seven
inches tall, and weighs about three hundred pounds = BMI of 45, or
“Extremely obese” pic.twitter.com/04EsZfuues—
Anna Fifield (@annafifield) April
21, 2020
In my book “The Great
Successor, ”I wrote that Kim Jong Un's biggest risk
factor was his obvious poor health - and in particular the risk of
cardiac problems.
Kim Jong Un is five feet, seven
inches tall, and weighs about three hundred pounds = BMI of 45, or
“Extremely obese” pic.twitter.com/04EsZfuues
—
Anna Fifield (@annafifield) April
21, 2020
"Given the information coming to us not only from Pyongyang, but also from China and Seoul, it is possible that Kim Jong Un underwent surgery, but I do not think he is in a critical condition to die or anything like that," he said. Professor Go Myong-hyun.
He points out that nothing strange has been recorded in the country. No unusual troop movements or increases in communications and diplomacy, which would signal that something big was happening. Why then do so many analysts think something is really going on with Kim?
If Kim dies, the tacit consensus in North Korea is that only someone from the same dynasty will succeed him. And there are several candidates here, including his sister, Kim Yo Yong.
And because this prominent form of the regime remains active lately, it serves as a sign in the eyes of many that something is going on. Analysts, however, tell us that North Korea is not yet ready for a female leader.
"The ideal leader must be a man, because North Korea is a very chauvinistic society. "So even if the most likely candidate is his sister, it will be difficult," said Go Myong-hyun. Who considers it more likely for the presidency the other brother, Kim Jong Chul.
No one can say anything for sure and everything that is said is in the realm of speculation. History, however, suggests that North Korea is suspiciously slow in its reactions.
When Kim Jong Il, Kim Jong Un's father, for example, died, it took North Korea two days to make it known to the world. So silence can mean something. But it can be anything. After all, North Korea is a country that works differently.
"You know, it all reflects our view," Delury explains. "We see North Korea as an extremely volatile entity on the wrong side of history that should not continue to exist." And so, again, these would mean that you have to spend for these processes. That fact must be taken into account. "
So until its officials open their mouths Pyongyang, we will see many more episodes in the political drama. A new scenario tells us that Kim is doing this to test how his political opponents will react.
Another wants the office propaganda to break his head on how to explain to the people the inexplicable.
We will see many such scenarios spring up until the end of the thriller titles. And they will only fall when we have something formal in our hands…
