Pentagon sees Kim Jong Un in ‘full control’ of DPRK mly

WASHINGTON: A top US general said on Wednesday that the US military had no indication that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been incapacitated or lost any control of the country’s military.

Asked about reports that Kim had undergone surgery and may be still under treatment, Pentagon Joint Chiefs Vice Chair General John Hyten said, "I can tell you that in the intel I don’t have anything to confirm or deny anything along those lines."

"I assume that Kim Jong Un is still in full control of the Korean nuclear force and the Korean military forces," he said. "I have no reason not to assume that," he added in a briefing for reporters.The United States and North Korea appeared to be barreling toward war in 2017, with the countries trading insults and threats of destruction.

The next two years saw a surprising series of summits, including three between Kim and Trump, as Kim pursued diplomacy in hopes of ending crippling economic sanctions and obtaining security guarantees.

But through it all he maintained his right to a nuclear arsenal, and most diplomacy has stalemated since.Speculation often surfaces about North Korea’s leadership based on attendance at important state events.

Kim, who is in his mid-30s, missed the celebration of the birthday of his late grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung on April 15, the country’s most important holiday.

But he presided over a meeting on April 11, discussing coronavirus prevention and electing his sister as an alternate member of the political bureau of the ruling Workers’ Party, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

And state media have since reported he sent greetings to Syrian President Bashar Assad and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel as well as arranging special birthday meals for two North Korean officials and a new centenarian.

“We have no information to confirm regarding rumors about Chairman Kim Jong Un’s health issue that have been reported by some media outlets,” South Korean presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok said.

“Also, no unusual developments have been detected inside North Korea.” The presidential office later said Kim is believed to be staying at an unspecified location outside of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, with some close confidants.

It said Kim appeared to be normally engaged with state affairs and there wasn’t any unusual movement or emergency reaction from North Korea’s ruling party, military or Cabinet.A US official said the White House was aware before the reports appeared late Monday that Kim’s health might be precarious.

The official said the US had information that Kim may have undergone surgery and that complications may have rendered him “incapacitated or worse.” But, the official stressed that the US had nothing to confirm the surgery had taken place or that any complications had occurred.

The US official, who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, would not elaborate on where the information came from or when it had been received.

Conservative South Korean lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun, chairman of the National Assembly’s foreign affairs and unification committee, said he was told by unspecified non-government sources that Kim had surgery for cardiovascular problems.

But an official from Seoul’s National Intelligence Service, who didn’t want to be named, citing office rules, said the spy agency couldn’t confirm whether Kim had surgery.It’s unclear what would happen if Kim is sidelined by health problems or dies. Still less than a decade into Kim’s rule, North Korea has yet to give any meaningful indication of who would succeed him as leader.