Donald Trump point-blank refuses to comment on rumors Kim Jong-un is dead
Donald Trump flat-out refused to comment when he was asked about rumors that Kim Jong-un is dead.
The president avoided the question regarding the North Korean leader’s condition during a press conference with Florida governor Ron DeSantis on Tuesday afternoon.
‘I don’t want to comment on it. I wish him well, but I just don’t want to comment on it,’ Trump said when asked about Kim.
Questions and rumors began to swirl about Kim’s health after he never showed up to an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. He was last seen on April 11, according to North Korean state media.
Different Asian media outlets across the continent have given an array of answers regarding Kim’s whereabouts.
According to a Chinese news broadcast citing a ‘very solid source,’ Kim is dead. A Japanese magazine reported him to be in a ‘vegetative state’ One report, citing senior Community Party sources in Beijing, claims Kim died while undergoing a minor operation because his surgeon was so nervous his hands were shaking. Another unconfirmed report claims Kim died during an operation because he is obese his surgeon was so used to treating malnourished citizens, which reportedly make up 40% of the population.
The whispered rumors became a roar when Reuters reported that China dispatched medical experts to help treat Kim on Friday. However, North Korea has continued carrying on as usual without any indication that Kim has fallen ill or died. South Korea bolstered the notion that Kim is still alive on Sunday.
At a closed-door forum in Seoul on Sunday, Sounth Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said his country has gathered ‘enough intelligence to confidently say that there are no unusual developments’ in North Korea, although he did not elaborate on the evidence.
Donald Trump, who has met with Kim multiple times, only added to the rumor mill on Monday when he contradicted himself at his Monday coronavirus press briefing when asked about the North Korean dictator, first saying he has ‘a very good idea’ about Kim’s condition before saying moments later that ‘nobody knows where (Kim) is.’
‘I can’t tell you, exactly – yes, I do have a very good idea, but I can’t talk about it now. I just wish him well,’ Trump said.
However, later in briefing, Trump told the press: ‘He didn’t say anything last Saturday. Nobody knows where he.’
One of Trump’s closest political allies, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, recently gave a much more outright answer when he said he would be ‘shocked’ if Kim was still alive given North Korea’s silence.
‘It’s a closed society. I haven’t heard anything directly, but I’ll be shocked if he’s not dead or in some incapacitated state because you don’t let rumors like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society which is really a cult, not a country, called North Korea,’ Graham told Fox News on Sunday.
If Kim has indeed died or fallen so ill that he can no longer rule over North Korea, it is unclear who would take his place.
Some have speculated that Kim’s younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, may be her brother’s predecessor although a woman has never led the Hermit Kingdom and not much information has been revealed about the younger Kim.
Others believe Kim’s older brother, Kim Jong-chul may take over for his brother in the event of his passing, although he has reportedly shown no interest in politics.
It is also speculated that Kim’s 65-year-old uncle, Kim Yo Jong, may be next to become the head of the country. He is the last known survivor of the country’s deceased founder, Kim Il Sung, whose birthday Kim missed, sparking the rumors about his whereabouts.