Trump says N. Korean leader Kim in ‘good health’ amid rumors

WASHINGTON D.C., Sep 11, 2020, Kyodo. U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in “good health” after rumors circulated that the head of the secretive state could be gravely ill, Kyodo News reported.

“Kim Jong Un is in good health. Never underestimate him!” Trump tweeted.

His remarks also came a day after U.S. media reported some unpublicized letters between the two leaders, citing excerpts from an upcoming book by prominent journalist Bob Woodward which showed Kim’s apparent efforts to court Trump through over-the-top flattery.

The pen pal relationship evolved as Trump and Kim met three times after a period of heightened tensions in 2017, when they were engaged in a fiery tit-for-tat verbal exchange over North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

While Trump has touted his “very good relationship” with Kim, the U.S. push to rid Pyongyang of its nuclear weapons has been stalled since the collapse of a bilateral summit in early 2019 over disagreements about sanctions relief.

Meanwhile, speculation had swirled over Kim’s health after he remained out of the public eye for about three weeks in April. His public appearances have since been reported through North Korean state-run media.

But rumors over Kim’s condition have recently surfaced again as some news outlets have reported a South Korean diplomat’s claim that Kim has been in a coma since April and that all of his appearances since then were faked by state authorities.

While a major celebration is expected in North Korea next month on the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea, the head of the U.S. forces in South Korea said Thursday that Pyongyang has not showed any signs of provocations so far.

“There’s people suggesting that perhaps there’ll be a rollout of a new weapons system. Maybe. But we’re not seeing any indications right now, any sort of lashing out,” Gen. Robert Abrams said during an online event hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

The CSIS said last Friday that satellite imagery of a North Korean shipyard has showed some activity suggestive of preparations for an upcoming test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile.