Following the emergence of rumors regarding the alleged death of Kim Jong-un, a high-ranking defector from North Korea suggested that Kim might have sustained injuries during a missile test on 14 April, South Korean newspaper The Dong-a Ilbo reports.
According to the media outlet, the defector - "a former high ranking official of Room 39, an organization run by the Workers’ Party of North Korea that maintains the foreign currency of 'the Kims'" - claimed that the aforementioned short-range cruise missile tests couldn't go ahead without Kim's order,
"Kim was absent from the reports of the tests while no footage of the missile launch and the training of combat aircrafts was released, which points to a possibility of an unexpected accident that might have been caused by debris or fire," the defector said.
Therefore, the defector mused, "Kim might have fallen ill shortly after the missile launch", as North Korean media outlets "cannot publish footage of missile tests without the permission of Kim".
He also dismissed speculations about Kim allegedly being rendered "brain dead" after a botched heart surgery, insisting that said reports did not seem credible or accurate.
Meanwhile, Moon Chung-in, senior foreign policy advisor to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, has announced that, as far as Seoul is aware, Kim Jong-un is alive and well.
