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You are here: Home / Foreign Affairs / Breaking! CNN Reports that Kim Jong Un In Grave Danger After Surgery

Breaking! CNN Reports that Kim Jong Un In Grave Danger After Surgery

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Public Service Announcement: Ignore the National Polls 2

Jim Sciutto at CNN has just reported that Kim Jong Un is in grave danger after surgery.

The US is monitoring intelligence that North Korea’s leader, is in grave danger after a surgery, according to a US official with direct knowledge.

Kim recently missed the celebration of his grandfather’s birthday on April 15, which raised speculation about his well-being. He had been seen four days before that at a government meeting.

CNN has reached out to the CIA, National Security Council and the State Department for comment. CNN has also sought comment from the South Koreans.

Gathering intelligence out of North Korea is notoriously difficult — one of the most challenging targets for US intelligence.

North Korea tightly controls any information surrounding its leader, who is treated almost like a deity within the country. His absences from official state media often spark speculation and rumors about his health.

North Korea has no free press and is often a black hole when it comes to the country’s leadership. Analysts are heavily reliant on scanning state media dispatches and watching propaganda videos for any semblance of a clue.

Kim last appeared in North Korean state media on April 11. April 15 — North Korea’s most important holiday, the anniversary of the birth of the country’s founding father, Kim Il Sung — came and went without any official mention of Kim Jong Un’s movements.

Experts are unsure of what to make of Kim’s absence from any festivities celebrating his grandfather. When North Korean leaders have not shown up to these important celebrations in the past, it has portended major developments. But it has also turned out to be nothing.

Kim Jong Il’s absence from a parade celebrating North Korea’s 60th anniversary in 2008 was followed by rumblings that he was in poor health. It was later revealed he had a stroke, after which his health continued to decline until his death in 2011.

Kim Jong Un disappeared from the public eye for more than a month in 2014, which also prompted speculation about his health. He returned sporting a cane, and days later South Korean intelligence said that he had a cyst removed from his ankle.

“It’s easy to be wrong on this one,” said John Delury, a professor of international relations at Yonsei University in Seoul.

This story is breaking and will be updated.

Sciutto’s reporting follows up on reporting from earlier today by Reuters that was a lot less alarming.

SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is receiving treatment after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure early this month, a South Korean media report said, amid speculation over Kim’s health following his absence from a key anniversary event.

North Korea marked the anniversary of the birthday of its founding father and Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, as a national holiday on April 15, but Kim was not seen in attendance.

Daily NK, a speciality website run mostly by North Korean defectors, cited unidentified sources inside the isolated state saying Kim is recovering at a villa in the Mount Kumgang resort county of Hyangsan on the east coast after getting the procedure on April 12 at a hospital there.

Reporting from inside North Korea is notoriously difficult, especially on matters concerning the country’s leadership, given tight controls on information.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, declined to comment on the report.

Kim’s health has deteriorated in recent months due to heavy smoking, obesity and overwork, the Daily NK report said.

“My understanding is that he had been struggling (with cardiovascular problems) since last August but it worsened after repeated visits to Mount Paektu,” a source was quoted as saying, referring to the country’s sacred mountain.

Kim left for the hospital after presiding over a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s politburo on April 11, where Kim was publicly last seen, the report said.

Because what we need right now is an unstable DPRK!

Open thread!

Reader Interactions

126Comments

  1. 1.

    Amir Khalid

    North Korea is one of the world’s last absolute monarchies. Should it come to that, who will succeed Jong Un?

  2. 2.

    Splitting Image

    Poor guy. Probably broke his neck trying to keep his head straight as to whether Donald Trump is his best friend or not.

  3. 3.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Katy Tur tweeted this:

    North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is brain dead, according to two US officials. He recently had cardiac surgery and slipped into a coma, according to one US current and one former US official. @NBCNews confirms and adds to CNN scoop from me, @ckubeNBC @carolelee

  6. 6.

    dmsilev

    Great. No possible way this could go wrong.

    2020 really is hammering home the truth behind that apocryphal curse ‘may you live in interesting times’.

  8. 8.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Anna Fifield @annafifield ·39m
    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”

  9. 9.

    Cheryl Rofer

    WHOAWHOAWHOA!

  11. 11.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Amir Khalid: His sister would be my guess if it will be tolerated. She spent a lot of time representing him at the last Winter Olympics. But I’m sure there’s a living male relative somewhere. And there may even be some sons. The question is whether the military leadership decides to either just keep him on life support and rule in his name or if they just take over and cut out the middle man.

  16. 16.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Kim was absent from a military celebration last week. I was wondering about COVID-19 at that time.

    All this uproar is apparently from ONE report from the unreliable North Korean media.

    It’s possible that Kim has something wrong with him, but let’s wait for a bit more confirmation.

  22. 22.

    Cheryl Rofer

  32. 32.

    Central Planning

    If KJU passes/passed, what happens to the surgeons and nursing staff that did the surgery?

  33. 33.

    Gin & Tonic

    @planetjanet: As I said at more length downstairs, I suspect this immigration thing will make my daughter-in-law’s green card application move even more slowly than the current molasses-in-January pace.

  34. 34.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Cheryl Rofer: I had honestly planned on just biting the bullet and doing the Israel post when I got back from walking the dogs. Then I got back, fired up the computer, and saw Sciutto’s reporting and was like: “I have been issued a reprieve!!!!” I did check the dashboard to see if you were working up a post on this, you weren’t, so I just went ahead.

  35. 35.

    Brachiator

    Trump wants to ban all immigration?

    Why can’t we exchange Trump supporters for a random group of immigrants? It would be a much better deal.

    ETA. Been totally away from computers and the Internet. Catching up on the news about the N Korea leader. And, something hot happening in Israel??

  36. 36.

    Cheryl Rofer

    It’s not impossible that Kim is having medical problems. Check out the thread on the Anna Fifield tweet I posted above. Fifield is one of the top reporters on North Korea. Kim has heart issues. It’s also pretty clear that North Korea has more of a COVID-19 issue than they are admitting. Nobody knows how a succession would go.

    We’re all tired of COVID news. But let’s get a bit more confirmation on this one.

  39. 39.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Omnes Omnibus: @planetjanet: Actually the details have been dribbling out for weeks. And, now that I’ve read the not a lot there but the headline WaPo reporting, what that article is trying to do is basically summarize what others have been reporting has been happening for weeks and which is considered to be the work of Stephen Miller.

  40. 40.

    DRickard

    Dear Leader Trump will be so brokenhearted if Dear Leader Kim dies!

    On the other hand, maybe Donald will insist on attending the funeral and catch the plague/a stray bullet during the succession crisis.

  41. 41.

    Mike in NC

    Kim’s health has deteriorated in recent months due to heavy smoking, obesity and overwork, the Daily NK report said.

    Ha. Our own Fat Bastard doesn’t smoke, and he certainly would never be accused of working, let alone “overworking”.

  44. 44.

    Cheryl Rofer

    @Adam L Silverman: No problem.

    On the one hand, I’ve felt like I’ve had my hair on fire for a month or more trying to convince people how exponential growth goes. Every day another state official is blindsided.

    On the other, I’ve been trying to damp down the preprint frenzy where we all want to hear that we’ve had mild cases of COVID and are now immune. Heck, I’d like that. But press releases from Silicon Valley geniuses don’t meet my requirements for believing that. They’re not even bothering with preprints any more.

  45. 45.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Brachiator: Gantz capitulated to Bibi and agreed to a unity government. The agreement gives Bibi everything he wants and the way it is worded, in 18 months when Bibi is supposed to turn over the prime ministership to Gantz, there is nothing in the agreement to prevent Bibi from immediately bringing down the government, remaining PM in a caretaker capacity until the election, and screwing Gantz. Also, they’ll be annexing the West Bank after 1 July. And Bibi gets control over appoint all the new judges and the attorney general and his protege gets to be speaker of Knesset. Gantz just completely capitulated even though he had the ability to form a government without Bibi.

  46. 46.

    dmsilev

    @planetjanet: From that link,

    It was not immediately clear what Trump was referring to or whether such an order would be possible.

    I feel such a sentence is boilerplate these days.

  52. 52.

    Kent

    If North Korea wanted to tamp down on the speculation they could try a little transparency.  Might as well have fun with it.    A couple weeks ago the speculation was about Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua.  Who inexplicably also disappeared.  Until he reappeared.

    I don’t think North Korea is going to escape the coronavirus.  Even though they aren’t reporting any cases.  Their economy somewhat depends on smuggling across the Chinese and even Russian borders.  Apparently a LOT of powerful party and military officials have fingers in the smuggling business.  So it is going to leak across the borders.

  53. 53.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Smells like flop sweat, smells like fear

    Donald J. Trumpm@realDonaldTrump
    · 49m
    In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States!

    New bad polls numbers? Something on his fox Tivo? Mike Flynn or Roger Stone or Paul Manafort or Fredo or Jared get an unpleasant heads up from a state AG? Melania wants more money to keep up appearances?

  57. 57.

    Central Planning

    @Omnes Omnibus: I suspect working for the dear leader is only good if the dear leader is alive. 600 could be the whole hospital

    Maybe they treat the staff the same way Egyptians did when they buried their kings

  58. 58.

    hells littlest angel

    Will Trump send Pence to the funeral or go himself? The temptation to have the entire population of North Korea watch him pretend to cry will be hard to resist.

  60. 60.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Adam L Silverman: what about when something is tweeted very strongly ? a powerful tweet like no one’s ever seen, very powerfu

    ETA:

    Richard M. Nixon @dick_nixon 11m
    His method when cornered has always been to throw blood to the base. That’s what it is. Often it works. This may even shore up a flank in the short term. But the base is just as sick and broke as anyone else.

  61. 61.

    Mandalay

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I’ve deleted that last tweet out of an abundance of caution.

    More like she sent that last tweet with an abundance of recklessness.

    I’m not a reporter, but it seems like Reporting 101 that you don’t don’t post a massive and very specific story based on what “one US current and one former US official” have stated. What a dope.

  63. 63.

    Brachiator

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Gantz just completely capitulated even though he had the ability to form a government without Bibi.

    Weird idea for a unity government. Has a rotating prime minister system ever worked anywhere?

    It certainly seems like a total capitulation. Does Gantz get anything substantial out of this deal at all? I don’t know anything about Gantz, but I cannot believe he is totally stupid. What does he do while Bibi is prime minister? Even if this is a total surrender, he must have seen, been told something that led him to believe that this was a necessary decision.

  64. 64.

    Kent

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: The word “temporary” may be doing a lot of heavy lifting there.   Like everything else Trump does, this one is probably good for one or two news cycles and then in November he will run ads saying he “temporarily” reduced immigration to protect the country and we will all be gas lit for the 9999th time.

    In practice it will probably be used by the Steven Miller followers in DHS to exclude the brown immigrants they don’t want while letting the wealthy and white ones through.

  65. 65.

    PaulWartenberg

    Someone on Twitter earlier today claimed 1968 was the most chaotic year ever, what with the Tet Offensive, two major assassinations, LBJ quitting the race, Chicago riots, nationwide protests, George Wallace winning southern states, and Nixon winning.

    So here comes 2020, going on “Hold my beer.” AND IT’S FCKING APRIL, PEOPLE WE AIN’T EVEN INTO HURRICANE SEASON YET. /cries

  66. 66.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: My guess is he’s using Invisible Enemy to not just refer to SARS-CoV2/COVID-19, but also as coded language to his base to refer to Democrats, liberals, people of color, religious minorities, and immigrants. It is the perfect phrase as it can mean almost anything.

  67. 67.

    Achrachno

    @Brachiator: “Why can’t we exchange Trump supporters for a random group of immigrants? It would be a much better deal.”

    I’ve been arguing for that for a while now, but I can’t figure out how to convince anyone to take the Trumpians. It’d have to be a deal involving a lot of cash too.  And maybe future draft picks.

    If some country accepted them they’d instantly be worse off and for an indefinite period into the future.

  68. 68.

    Anya

    I bet whoever replaces him won’t be more crazy or as unpredictable. They might get a less insane leader. Let’s hope they get someone saner. The people of North Korea have suffered enough. They deserve someone who will look out for them.

  69. 69.

    Cheryl Rofer

    Thread from another good reporter on North Korea

  70. 70.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Brachiator: Give this thread a read:

  71. 71.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Catherine Rampell @crampell · 38m
    Immigrants account for 18.2% of healthcare workers and 23.5% of formal and nonformal long-term care sector workers. 27.5% of direct care workers and 30.3% of nursing home housekeeping and maintenance workers are immigrants

  72. 72.

    smedley the uncertain

    @Adam L Silverman: Please don’t wait too long. This story has had me wondering all day. Leaving Bibi still in office and protected from prosecution is wrong.

  77. 77.

    Mandalay

    CNN does fake news:

    The US is monitoring intelligence that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, is in grave danger after a surgery, according to a US official with direct knowledge.

    The ambiguous wording of that sentence is no accident. They want you to (preposterously) swallow that “a US official” has direct knowledge that Kim Jong Un is in grave danger, but all they are really claiming is that “a US official” has direct knowledge that the US is monitoring intelligence.

    Well BFD, and fuck CNN.

  78. 78.

    joel hanes

    @Adam L Silverman:

    I’m pretty sure you can’t suspend Federal law and international treaty obligations that have been ratified and have the force of Federal law by executive order.

    Adam, with all due respect, Trump/Kushner currently have suborned the FBI to the point that the FBI is assisting in piracy of masks and PPE.

    We saw what the CBP was made of in the first 24 hours of the “Muslim ban”, and they have not improved since.   IMHO they will do what Trump orders, regardless of applicable law.

  83. 83.

    rikyrah

    One cent a barrel oil. Trump gets played by the Saudis and Russians. Just like China. The job losses will be massive. Turns out having a dumb narcissist as President could not be more dangerous to America.— David Plouffe (@davidplouffe) April 20, 2020

  84. 84.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    good news

    Trevor Hunnicutt @TrevorNews ·28m
    Biden’s campaign steps up fundraising, gathers $46.7 million in March

  87. 87.

    Another Scott

    It’s not unusual for intelligence analysis to begin off the back of “open source” intelligence (in this case, a report/rumors of Kim’s health issues). If an analyst begins studying that information and working the issue, they would be “monitoring intelligence”. https://t.co/CTYLVFXrtf

    — Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) April 21, 2020

    (via nycsouthpaw)

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  88. 88.

    Brachiator

    @Adam L Silverman:

    Thanks very much.

    I look forward to any other insights, but this unity government. Wow. This reminds me of the deal that the Liberal Democrats got when they formed a coalition with the UK Conservative Party. Worse than nothing.

  89. 89.

    Jinchi

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy,

    At first I was shocked that he’d say that, then I assumed you were clearly parodying Trump and then I learn that, no, it’s really him after all.

    I really hate the American tradition of treating every crisis as though it’s a war.

  91. 91.

    Bill Arnold

    @Adam L Silverman:

    My guess is he’s using Invisible Enemy to not just refer to SARS-CoV2/COVID-19, but also as coded language to his base to refer to Democrats, liberals, people of color, religious minorities, and immigrants. It is the perfect phrase as it can mean almost anything.

    This is true, but he’s been using it for a while to (apparently) refer to SARS-CoV-2
    Behind Trump’s Strange ‘Invisible Enemy’ Rhetoric – By branding coronavirus as a hidden menace, he deftly absolves himself of responsibility for its spread. (JACK SHAFER, 04/09/2020)
    He may also be inhaling conspiracy theories about the origin of SARS-CoV-2 involving non-US-nationals. That (wanting to keep them out of the US) would be truly weird.

  103. 103.

    The Pale Scot

    Ok! You can stop the simulation now! (looks up and around)

    It’s a shame this isn’t five years ago before the last round of purges, that seemed to have cleared out the last few crazies who thought loosening the authoritarianism was critical to keeping DPRK from unraveling.

     

    Unless Putin can force the oligarchs to repatriate hundreds of billions I doubt the Russian government can keep the plates spinning.

    Prince Bonesaw theoretically has the funds on the books to keep SA functioning for year or 2.

    Both of those scenarios depend on there being trillions of dollars in liquidity. I don’t see it. Even with the mother of QE who the hell is going to sign a contract to purchase something? Assets have to sold to liquidate.

    And now the crackpot country that’s next to the only SE asian country that has the pandemic under positive control is going to have coup. I don’t think a bastard son pulled out of a closet is going to cut it. Any hiccup in forming a new power structure could lead to an attempted exodus by a misinformed/propagandized people.

     

    Potential civil wars in two nuclear armed countries. Fuck me. Precarity ‘R Us

  104. 104.

    Bill Arnold

    @hells littlest angel: 

    Expect regular and decisive victories against The Invisible Enemy any time things aren’t going well for trump.

    The God Emperor who wears clothes said to be invisible to anyone who is either unfit for his position or “hopelessly stupid”, v.s. The Invisible Enemy.
    Who will win?

  106. 106.

    lgerard

    The wingnuts are ramping up the claim that Kim contacted the virus from a Chinese doctor brought in to assist in his surgery.

    Propagandists never sleep

  108. 108.

    Brachiator

    @rikyrah:

    NBC/WSJ poll:WhiteTrump 51%Biden 42%BlackTrump 7%Biden 85%HispanicTrump 26%Biden 60%

    Wow. I cannot believe that 7 percent of Black voters back Trump.

  109. 109.

    TS (the original)

    @rikyrah:

    Hillary Clinton called it correctly – deplorables – every last one of them. Even when they are dying from trump’s failures they still vote republican.

  113. 113.

    prostratedragon

    @PaulWartenberg:
    I was around: 1968 was as bad as people say. However, there wasn’t a pandemic of a potentially fatal disease, and the President wasn’t a terminal moron, so 2020 is likely to surge to a good lead.

  116. 116.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    Reuters: Kim’s health has deteriorated in recent months due to heavy smoking, obesity and overwork, the Daily NK report said.
    — Vincent Lee (@Rover829) April 21, 2020

    The John Belushi of North Korea

  118. 118.

    Yutsano

    @Brachiator:  I’m actually shocked at the white number. That’s actually terrible for Herr Drumpf. The spell might not be broken yet but might it be waning?

  122. 122.

    Adam L Silverman

    @Brachiator: Ben Carson, Diamond, Silk, Candace Owens, the Blacks for Trump guy who is actually a cult member and convicted felon, and Eric’s wedding plan who is now the HUD regional director for New York.

  123. 123.

    Adam L Silverman

    @debbie: He’s always been center right. And he’s always been a hawk. I don’t have any idea what his real motivations are.

  126. 126.

    HeartlandLiberal

    Wow. I had totally forgotten what it was like growing up during the height of the cold war in fifties and sixties, and how so much intelligence efforts were devoted to tracking the public appearances of Communist leaders in Russia and China, and trying to figure out what the hell was going on in those societies based on those observations.

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