Kim Jong-un not seen for WEEKS as he skips key photo op for first time sparking health fears
KIM Jong-un has once again vanished as he skipped a key photo op in a political congress held in Pyongyang.
The North Korean dictator has not been seen for weeks sparking fears about his health.
According to state media he was last seen on May 6, in an event for military families.
Kim was expected to make an appearance during last week’s event of the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea (GFTUK).
Along with the country’s youth league, women’s union and agricultural workers’ union, GFTUK are considered “transmission belts of the Party,” reports NKnews.
State media reported that Kim sent a letter with detailed instructions that were read aloud at the event, but he did not show up himself.
While there were main events that he did not attend in the past, Kim has never missed a group photo with congress participants.
Generally the dictator has kept a low profile since the beginning of the pandemic.
However, his absence from such an important event has sparked speculations about his health.
There is also the possibility that Kim is choosing to distance due to Covid-19.
But it is not the first time the North Korean leader has been inexplicably missing.
The enigmatic North Korean dictator has pulled a number of disappearing acts over the years.
In February 2020, he disappeared for nearly three weeks without any speculation surrounding his health.
A few months later in April 2020, he disappeared for 12 days sparking speculation that he has died or was gravely ill after a botched heart operation.
However, the following month the state released footage of the 36-year-old visiting a newly-opened fertiliser plant in his country appearing to quash the health rumours.
In November 2020 he vanished again for a total of 20 days prompting fears he could be plotting provocative missile tests to test Joe Biden.
Back in 2014 Kim had vanished for 40 days, sparking rumours he had been ousted in a coup, only to reemerge with a walking stick after apparently recovering from an illness or an operation.
Most read in News
Kim’s most recent dissapearance comes after he ordered a man to be shot by the firing squad in front of 500 people for illegally selling music and films.
The engineer, whose surname was Lee, was executed last week as his family were forced to watch after he was caught secretly selling CDs and USBs with South Korean content.
Lee reportedly confessed to selling the material and authorities are now hunting down who bought them from him with the CDs and USBs believed to have been sold for between five and 12 dollars.