North Korean media keeping upper lip tight about Kim’s whereabouts

North Korean state media on Wednesday made no mention of leader Kim Jong Un’s health or whereabouts, a day after intense international speculation over his health was sparked by media reports he was gravely ill after a cardiovascular procedure.

The media presented a business as usual image, carrying routine reporting of Kim’s achievements, publishing his older or undated quotes on issues like the economy.

Speculation about Kim’s health first arose due to his absence from the anniversary of the birthday of North Korea’s founding father and Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15.

On Wednesday, the main headlines from the state news agency, KCNA, included pieces on sports equipment, mulberry picking, and a meeting in Bangladesh to study North Korea’s “juche” or self-reliance ideology.

Noteworthy, South Korean and Chinese officials and sources familiar with US intelligence have cast doubt on the South Korean and US media reports, while the White House said it was closely monitoring the matter.

US President Donald Trump, who held unprecedented summits with Kim in 2018 and 2019 in an attempt to persuade him to give up his nuclear weapons, said the reports had not been confirmed and he did not put much credence in them.

North Korea experts have cautioned that hard facts about Kim’s condition are elusive but said his unprecedented absence from major celebrations for his grandfather’s birthday last week signals that something may have gone awry.

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.