Last week Daily NK, a site run by North Korean escapees in South Korea obtained information about Kim Jong Un’s wellbeing. It is believed that the North Korean leader underwent cardiovascular surgery, which sparked rumors about his health’s rapid decline.
The South Korean, Chinese and U.S. authorities denied the latter, saying that there was no reason to believe that Kim was gravely ill.
However, on April 24th Reuters reported that North Korea invited the delegation from China including a team of medical professionals. The group by led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison, departed from Beijing on April 23rd.
Kim Jong Un had to receive the operation because of the rumoured heart complications caused by excessive smoking, obesity and overwork. The procedure and the following recovery was probably the reason why he missed one of the most important national holidays: his grandfather’s Kim Il Sung birthday on April 15th.
China is no stranger to offering medical aid to the North Korean leaders. In 2008 a group of Chinese medical experts helped Jong Un’s father Kim Jong-il recover from a heart attack.
