Citing U.S. Intelligence
CNN reported on April 21 that the United States is monitoring intelligence that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "in grave danger after a surgery.”
CNN cited an unidentified "U.S. official with direct knowledge," but offered no further details.
The report came after Daily NK, a South Korean internet news outlet specializing in North Korea, reported that Kim has been receiving medical treatment at a villa in the resort county of Hyangsan, outside of Pyongyang, following a cardiovascular procedure on April 12.
Speculation has arisen about Kim’s health since he missed an annual visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the occasion of the 108th birthday of his late grandfather and state founder Kim Il-sung on April 15..
The North Korean leader was last seen on April 11 in state media reports presiding over a political bureau meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, calling for "strict national countermeasures to thoroughly check the infiltration of the virus."
Kim took over as leader after his father and late leader Kim Jong-il died in late 2011.
Meanwhile, the South Korean government said on April 16 that Kim did not visit the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on April 15, the birthday of the North’s founder Kim Il-sung.
A Unification Ministry official said that Kim’s failure to visit the palace is unprecedented since he has visited the venue every year on his grandfather's birthday.
North Korean media reported earlier in the day that top officials of the North’s ruling party and government had visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun the previous day.
According to a Daily NK report on April 15, North Korea had canceled many of the events commemorating Kim Il-sung’s birthday.
“On Monday night, the authorities suddenly announced that many of the events celebrating Kim Il-sung’s birthday have been canceled,” a Ryanggang Province-based source was quoted as saying on April 14.
The country had already cancelled the April Spring Friendship Art Festival and the Pyongyang Marathon, which have traditionally been held to celebrate Kim Il-sung’s birthday, the report said.