IT is impossible to know whether Kim Jong-un is dead or alive as even his elite inner circle are being kept in the dark, claims a former CIA analyst.
Speculation over the welfare of the North Korean leader has been mounting for days but the rogue state has not broken its silence.
Now a former CIA analyst has revealed even the chosen few normally allowed to get close to Kim probably have no idea where he is, let alone whether he has died.
The secretive way North Korea operates severely restricts the flow of information related to its top leaders and in particular Kim.
The US and China are desperately seeking to find the truth about claims the despot is either dead or in a vegetative state following botched heart surgery.
But Jung Pak, a former CIA expert, said even those within Kim’s inner circle are deliberately deprived of information.
And those lucky enough to escape the secretive state back up the claims, reports the Financial Times.
Over the past week there have been conflicting reports surrounding the portly dictator’s health and whereabouts:
“It is not a situation that even North Korea’s high-ranking officials will be aware of, except (Mr Kim’s wife) Ri Sol -ju and his closest aides,” one high-profile defector was quoted as saying.
And it is not just those within the palaces of Pyongyang who have no idea what is true and what is not, say regional experts.
Sue Mi Terry, a former CIA analyst who briefed presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama, said the US is also in the dark.
“Trust me, they [US officials] don’t know what’s going on,” said Ms Terry, now a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“It’s not only the Americans; it’s the rest of the world…there is a reason why no one knew for 48 hours (that former leader Kim Jong Il had died) and we found out only because the North Koreans decided to tell us.”
Meanwhile, South Korea’s minister for North Korean affairs said earlier today that he believed Kim has not been seen because he is dodging the coronavirus.
“It is true that he had never missed the anniversary for Kim Il Sung’s birthday since he took power, but many anniversary events including celebrations and a banquet had been cancelled because of coronavirus concerns,” Kim Yeon-chul said at a parliamentary hearing.
He said there were at least two instances since mid-January where Kim went missing for nearly 20 days.
“I don’t think that’s particularly unusual given the current (coronavirus) situation,” he added.
Suspicions over Kim’s welfare were sparked when he was suspiciously absent from the national birthday celebrations of his late granddad Kim Il-sung, known as the Day of the Sun.
Chinese journalist Shijian Xingzou said she had it from a “very solid source” told her the North Korean leader had died.
She has 15 million followers on Chinese social media site Weibo, and she is also the niece of one of the the country’s foreign ministers.
Separately, a Japanese media outlet claimed Kim was in a “vegetative state” after undergoing heart surgery.
South Korean president Moon Jae-in’s foreign policy advisor Chung-in Moon has said they believe Kim has been staying in Wonsan since April 13 – with “no suspicious movements”.
Pictures released by North Korea watchers 38North show what is believed to be Kim’s private armoured train parked near the resort.
North Korean defectors have also dismissed the ongoing rumours of Kim’s death.
Joo Sung-ha, a defector turned journalist, said in a Facebook post reported by the New York Times it was reasonable to believe Kim had health problems.
However, he wrote he had zero trust in any of the reports as information about Kim’s health is such a closely guarded secret.
It is speculated his sister Kim Yo-jong could be next in line after him if he was to be dead.
