Hello world! Kim Jong-un resurfaces after 20 day absence

Speculation about his health was rampant after he missed the April 15 birthday celebration for his late grandfather Kim Il Sung, the country’s most important holiday, for the first time since assuming power in 2011.

Without providing evidence, state media reported he was “carrying out routine activities outside public view,” such as sending greetings to the leaders of Syria, Cuba and South Africa and expressing gratitude to workers building tourist facilities in the coastal town of Wonsan, where some speculated he was staying.

South Korea, which has at best a mixed record of tracking Pyongyang’s ruling elite, downplayed rumours that Kim, believed to be 36, was in poor health following surgery.

The possibly of high-level instability raised troubling questions about the future of the secretive, nuclear-armed state that has been steadily building an arsenal meant to threaten the US mainland, while diplomacy between Kim and Trump has stalled.

Following an unusually provocative run of missile and nuclear tests in 2017, Kim used the Winter Olympics in South Korea to initiate diplomacy with Washington and Seoul in 2018. This led to a surprising series of summits, including three between Kim and Trump himself, as Kim pursued diplomacy in hopes of ending crippling economic sanctions and obtaining security guarantees.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused Kim’s absence in past weeks. In 2014, Kim vanished from the public eye for nearly six weeks and then reappeared with a cane. South Korea’s spy agency said he’d had a cyst removed from his ankle.

Analysts say his health could increasingly become a factor in the years ahead: he’s obese, smokes and drinks, and has a family history of heart issues.

If he’s suddenly unable to rule, may analysts said his sister will be installed as leader to continue Pyongyang’s dynasty that began after World War II. But others question whether core members of the country’s elite, mostly men in their 60s or 70s, wouldn’t accept a young, untested female leader who lacks military credentials. Some predict a collective leadership or violent power struggles.

SOURCE: AP