According to various sources emerging out of North Korea and far east, the Supreme leader of the state – Kim Jong Un is reportedly dead. Due to the sensitive nature of the media in North Korea, there isn’t a clear picture of his health.
Since the last week, several media outlets from China, Japan, and the United States started reporting about the ‘critical condition’ of the 36-year-old dictator of North Korea. While some reports claimed him to be dead, the others reported him to be in a vegetative state following heart surgery.
The South Korean government announced that it would look into the media reports that suggest that the Supreme leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un is in grave danger after heart surgery. The reports started to do the rounds after he missed the birthday celebration of his grandfather on the 15th of April.
The Vice-Director of the Hong Kong Based News Channel HKSTV, Shijian Xingzou who claims to be the niece of China’s foreign minister, said that a ‘close source’ has confirmed to her that the Supreme Leader is dead. Later, a Japanese weekly Shukan Gendai claimed that the North Korean dictator is in a vegetative state following a complication in heart surgery.
The Chinese Interest
A medical team from China was sent to the North Korean capital Pyongyang. One of the doctors of the team who treated Kim Jong Un said that a delay in simple heart procedure had made the leader severely ill. Further details are yet to known.
As China’s medical team arrived in North Korea to determine the health of Kim Jong Un, the reports of his death have sparked major civil-unrest in the country that is a nuclear state. The Chinese delegation to North Korea not only included doctors but also CCP officials and others. The Chinese government has refused to provide clarity on the intent of the delegation and the outcome of its visit.
The American Angle
The United States President Donald Trump too downplayed the situation as he said the reports of Kim’s death would have been ‘incorrect’. South Korean intelligence believes that Kim is alive and is likely to make an appearance soon. The US intelligence too followed the South Korean way as they said there is no reason to conclude the Supreme leader is dead. The Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo told fox news that America is following the situation keenly. However, both the US and South Korea did not make any comments on Chinese involvement.
North Korea is one of the most secretive and isolated countries in the world which has the fourth largest army. The state treats the health of its leaders as a matter of security. The conjecture about Kim’s health could lead to political turmoil and even lead to a civil war. This is a possibility due to the lack of a designated heir to the political leadership. There is also a high chance of a refugee crisis if the reports of his death come out to be true. The military too is expected to go against any kind of foreign intervention that could pose a threat to the plans of the US and South Korea to secure the mass destructive weapons houses by the country.
Incidentally, when Kim Jong Un’s father, Kim Jong II died of a stroke, the South Korean media reported that Chinese and French doctors were involved in the treatment. China is an important ally of North Korea and depends much on it for its economic sanctions as it is isolated from the UN. In 2018 and 2019, Trump held unprecedented summits with Kim to persuade him to give up the country’s nuclear ambitions.
Kim Jong Un, the 36-year-old dictator had taken control of the entire state as no other leader has in the world. Kim has been responsible for killing and imprisoning millions of his ‘opponents’ and created Nazi-like camps to force them into labor and imprison them. At a time when thousands of North Korean people starved of hunger, Kim spent millions in making the country a nuclear state. The country has also threatened the US with pre-emptive nuclear attacks.
His health condition in the following weeks will determine the future of the country as vested interests take guard to secure the country’s nuclear power.
Source: UK Express
