Amid reports of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's illness, South Korea has emphasised that there have been no "unusual movements" in North Korea. "Our government position is firm," Moon Chung-in, the top foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, said, Reuters reported ."Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected."
Questions about Kim's health flared after he skipped an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. It's North Korea's most important event, and Kim, 36, hadn't missed it since inheriting power from his father in late 2011. Kim has been out of the public eye for extended periods in the past, and North Korea's secretive nature allows few outsiders to assert confidently whether he might be unwell, let alone incapacitated.
North Korea exerts extremely tight control on information about its leadership, making it virtually impossible for outsiders to find out what's going on at those senior levels. Even South Korea's main spy agency has a mixed record on confirming developments in North Korea. When Kim Jong Il died in December 2011, for instance, few outsiders knew it until it was reported by North Korea's state media two days later.
