North Korean news agency KCNA reported Saturday that Kim Jong Un attended a fertilizer factory opening. This seems to be his first public appearance in 20 days amid worldwide rumors that he was gravely ill. This however could not be independently verified even as this report gets published.
The U.S. is said to be monitoring and trying to verify the reports. A key indication could be whether the government-run party daily publishes similar information, if any, in next 24 hours. The U.S. has been trying to verify the status of Kim’s health and whereabouts since he failed to appear at a national holiday event on April 15.
The announcement was widely picked up by news agencies including the South Korean news agency Yonhap, which published a stock photo of Kim from the winter. That added suspicion to initial reports that came in, given the current warm weather in Pyongyang.
North Korean state-run media KCNA reported Kim attended a ceremony marking the completion of a fertilizer plant in Sunchon, South Phyongan Province.
According to Reuters, KCNA reported that Kim cut a ribbon at the ceremony and those attending the event “burst into thunderous cheers of ‘hurrah!’ for the Supreme Leader who is commanding the all-people general march for accomplishing the great cause of prosperity.”
According to KCNA, several senior North Korean officials, including his younger sister Kim Yo Jong, attended the ceremony with him.
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Rumors surfaced about Kim’s health when he was absent from events on April 15 honoring the 108th birthday of his grandfather and the country’s founder Kim Il Sung.
President Trump weighed in on Kim’s health earlier this week, saying “I do know how he’s doing, relatively speaking. We will see. You’ll probably be hearing in the not too distant future.
The surfacing of the North Korean leader could be a big slap on the media outlets that took on themselves to come up with mind boggling fake stories that they have reduced themselves to. Much of Indian media were at the forefront having honed in their skills in spreading fakes over the past several years.
One such channel, the News18 had gone to the extent of running multiple stories about Kim Jong Un’s death. While most speculated on Kim’s sister to take up his position, there were others who even went a step ahead. One such story from the Godi-Media read “Kim Jong Un’s Once Banished Uncle May Overtake His Sister to Rule North Korea Because He’s a Man”
Another even more bizarre one from ‘The Sun’ and ‘The Daily Mail’ from UK had speculated that Kim sustained injuries while watching a failed missile launch and had later substantiate, a North Korean defector was also produced who vouched the claim that Kim died due to a failed missile test.
However it may be noted that it is not the first time that Kim Jong Un has been rumoured to have been dead or injured. The Fake Media has been claiming atrociously about North Korea, often coining stories of the brutality unleashed by the North Korean leader, which in the hind sight seems to be a well organized propaganda serving vested interests.
