Speculation has been swirling this weekend about the condition of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. Earlier this week, CNN, citing a source with “direct knowledge,” reported that U.S. Intelligence officials were monitoring reports that Kim was “gravely ill” following cardiovascular surgery. Hours later, Reuters announced that the South Korean government had disputed CNN’s story.
The rumors began to fly once more on Saturday morning following a Reuters report that a team of Chinese medical experts had traveled to North Korea on Thursday to consult with the 36-year-old Kim’s doctors.
Then, a story from Japanese media outlet Shukan Gendai broke which said the obese leader was in a “vegetative state.” Shukan Gendai reported that earlier in April, Kim was visiting a rural area when he clutched his chest and collapsed suddenly.
Citing a member of a Chinese medical team in North Korea, the outlet says Kim was rushed to a nearby hospital, and with help from Beijing, called it at once.
Kim reportedly required a stent procedure — a surgery that involves a tube placed into a congested blood vessel to ensure the blood circulation can continue.
While the procedure in question is not too complex, the magazine’s source said, the surgeon was not used to dealing with patients with obesity and was too nervous during the operation, resulting in a delay which left Kim in a “vegetative state.”
Because no one has seen him in public for two weeks, naturally people are talking about what a post-Kim Jong Un North Korea might look like. Many are wondering if Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong, might take over the reins.
Broadway producer and director Tom D’Angora, who absolutely worships Hillary Clinton, thought about that and tweeted, “North Korea is going to have a Woman leader before the United States of America! Let that sink in!”
Conservative Christina Sommers, resident scholar at American Enterprises Institute, quickly responded. She tweeted, “What is your point? No one votes in North Korea.”
“Let that sink in.”
What is your point? No one votes in North Korea.
— Christina Sommers (@CHSommers) April 26, 2020
Join the conversation as a VIP Member