North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is gravely-ill after undergoing heart surgery, it has been claimed. CNN reported that the 36-year-old leader’s condition is being monitored by US intelligence officials, who were reportedly told that Kim was ‘in grave danger’ after the cardiovascular operation.
Kim was absent from North Korea’s most important annual holiday on April 15, raising speculation about his wellbeing. South Korean news website the Daily NK claimed earlier on Monday night that Kim was ‘mostly-recovered’ from the procedure. The website obtained the story from a single anonymous informant based in North Korea, and has been unable to obtain further details on Kim’s condition, Bloomberg reported.
Bruce Klingner, a former CIA deputy division chief for North Korea, said previous rumors about Kim being in poor health had turned out to be false, and that the country’s extreme secrecy made it difficult to establish the facts.
He told CNN: ‘There have been a number of recent rumors about Kim’s health (smoking, heart, and brain). If Kim is hospitalized, it would explain why he wasn’t present on the important April 15th celebrations. But, over the years, there have been a number of false health rumors about Kim Jong-un or his father. We’ll have to wait and see. (Text and photo courtesy Metro)