The U.S. is seeking details about Kim Jong Un's health after receiving information that the North Korean leader was in critical condition after undergoing cardiovascular surgery last week, a U.S. official said.
The Trump administration wasn't sure whether Kim was dead or alive, said the official, who asked not to be identified. CNN had earlier reported, citing a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the matter, that Kim may be in "grave danger" after the surgery. The White House declined to comment on the CNN report.
South Korea's benchmark Kospi gauge extended losses to as much as 3% on the news. Local defense stocks rose.
The Daily NK, a Seoul-based website that gathers information from informants in North Korea, separately reported that Kim, 36, underwent a "cardiovascular surgical procedure" and had mostly recovered. It was impossible to immediately verify the report, which the Daily NK said was based on one person in North Korea.
The health of North Korea's leader is one of the state's most closely guarded secrets, typically only known by a few people in the inner circle of leadership. Speculation about Kim had been growing since his unprecedented absence from April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung, one of the biggest days on the North Korean calendar.
Kim, a heavy smoker, has been shown in state media in recent months appearing at military drills and riding a white horse on the country's revered Mt. Paektu, which state propaganda says his grandfather used as a guerrilla base to fight Japanese colonial occupiers.
The Unification Ministry said Friday that it was "inappropriate" to speculate about the reasons for Kim's absence. Kim has made 17 public appearances this year that were mentioned in state media — at a pace of a little more than one a week — the ministry said. That pace is slightly down from 84 public appearances last year.
North Korea has been trying to prevent a coronavirus outbreak, which has led to cutting back on celebrations and some other major events and for cadres to appear in protective masks in public events with Kim.
