Donald Trump thinks report on ‘gravely ill’ Kim Jong-un was incorrect
- US president says he heard speculation on North Korean leader’s condition was based on ‘old documents
- Trump adds he has ‘good relationship’ with Kim but declined to say if he had been in touch with Pyongyang
“I think the report was incorrect,” Trump said at a daily White House briefing, adding that he had heard it was based on “old documents.”
Trump had said on Tuesday that he might contact North Korean officials to inquire about Kim but gave no indication on Thursday he had done so. The two leaders have had regular communications over the past couple of years.
Two South Korean government officials rejected a subsequent CNN report citing an unnamed US official saying that the United States was “monitoring intelligence” that Kim was in grave danger after surgery.
Kim is a third-generation hereditary leader who rules North Korea with an iron fist, coming to power after his father Kim Jong-il died in 2011 from a heart attack.
Is Kim Jong-un ill? Reports shine light on North Korea’s rumour mill
The US government’s latest information on the North Korean leadership is that Kim still remains out of sight and there is a dearth of reliable information about the reasons for his absence, according to a source familiar with current intelligence reporting and analysis.
US officials acknowledge Kim does have a history of health problems and is overweight, and say that this does at least raise a credible possibility he has suffered some kind of health crisis, the source said.
But they do not regard theories that Kim has had a heart attack or some other serious health setback as confirmed, and said he has disappeared from public view for extended periods in the past.
US government experts do not believe Kim’s influential sister, Kim Yo Jong, is a shoo-in to succeed him were he to die. They believe there is “no clear” designated successor in the event that Kim dies, the source said.
