No one knows for sure if Kim Jong Un is dead or alive, or if someone else has already wrested power from him, but satellite images taken by a website that monitors North Korea offer new hints as to the whereabouts of the nation’s leader.
According to a report from NK Pro, luxury boats often used by Kim have been showing activity lately and making “unusual moves” off the coast of Wonsan, where Kim has a seaside resort. This indicates his “likely continued presence in the area.”
Reuters notes the images bolster a report over the weekend from the 38 North website that said a train was spotted at a Wonsan station typically reserved for Kim and his family.
NK Pro has a pretty good track record of syncing up such boat activity with Kim eventually emerging publicly in the area: It’s been correct about a half-dozen times since last summer, and multiple times before that over the last several years.
While there’s been much speculation that Kim’s disappearance may be tied to health problems, South Korean and US officials think Kim may simply be sheltering in place at one of his favorite compounds to avoid the coronavirus, per the Guardian.
South Korea’s unification minister, Kim Yeon-chul, says people shouldn’t jump to conclusions that just because the North Korean leader didn’t show for an April 15 anniversary event honoring his grandfather that he’s ill.
“He had not missed the anniversary … since taking power, but many anniversary events, including celebrations and a banquet, have been canceled because of coronavirus concerns,” the minister says, adding reports of Kim Jong Un undergoing heart surgery are “fake news.”
