Kim Jong-un congratulated President Cyril Ramaphosa on Freedom Day (Picture: Reuters)Reuters|Kim Jong-un has sent a message to mark South Africa’s Freedom Day amid rumours that he had died after undergoing surgery.
The North Korean leader, 36, congratulated President Cyril Ramaphosa on the national holiday and expressed the belief that relations between the two countries is growing ‘steadily stronger’, the KCNA reports.
It comes amid conflicting reports about Kim’s health, fuelled by his absence from the commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15.
The Supreme Leader is reported to have undergone heart surgery at his family’s private hospital Mount Paektu, after collapsing several days earlier.
The Supreme Leader has not been seen in public for some time (Picture: Reuters)Some reports indicate he had a stent fitted, which is a routine operation, but rumours suggest the surgeon made an error which proved to be fatal for the ruler.
Vice director of HKSTV Hong Kong Satellite Television, Shijian Xingzou, said a ‘very solid source’ told her that Kim had died, while Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai reported the leader was in a ‘vegetative state’ after the procedure.
A team of Chinese medical experts were previously sent to advise on how to treat him. If Kim has died, his sister Kim Yo-jong is likely to take over as leader.
She has already been exercising significant influence within the government, an analyst at South Korea’s private Sejong Institute said.
Cheong Seong-Chang added that social upheaval would be unlikely in the event of the Supreme Leader’s death, as most members of Pyongyang’s leadership share an interest in North Korea staying within the Kim family.
On Sunday, a top official in South Korea denied reports that Kim had died on the operating table, stating that there were no ‘unusual developments’ in North Korea.
Unification minister Kim Yeon-chul said South Korea has ‘enough intelligence’ to confidently know what is happening in their neighbouring nation.