- A train believed to belong to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been spotted by satellite images at a resort town in the country.
- The Washington-based 38 North, a North Korea monitoring project, reviewed the satellite images and said it was probably Kim’s train, though the information remains unconfirmed.
- “The train’s presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country’s eastern coast,” the report said.
- Kim has not been seen in public since April 11, and rumors have swirled that the leader underwent a cardiovascular surgery and is gravely ill.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A special train possibly belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was spotted this week at a resort town in the country, according to satellite images reviewed by a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project, amid conflicting reports about Kim’s health and whereabouts.
The monitoring project, 38 North, said in its report on Saturday that the train was parked at the “leadership station” in Wonsan on April 21 and April 23. The station is reserved for the use of the Kim family, it said.
Though the group said it was probably Kim Jong Un’s train, the information is unconfirmed, and it’s unclear that Kim was in Wonsan.
“The train’s presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country’s eastern coast,” the report said.
Airbus Defence & Space and 38 North ?Pleiades ? CNES 2020, Distribution Airbus DS?/Handout via REUTERS.
Kim is well-known for his family’s armored, 21-carriage train, which he frequently for both domestic and international travel. In recent years he has used it to travel to Russia, China, and Vietnam, and photos from North Korean state media showed a luxurious interior.
It’s unclear if the train seen in the satellite imagery is the same as the train Kim used for the trips.
Kim hasn’t been seen since April 11, and rumors started swirling just days later
Speculation about Kim’s health first arose due to his absence from the anniversary of the birthday of North Korea’s founding father and Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung, on April 15.
North Korea’s state media last reported on Kim’s whereabouts when he presided over a meeting on April 11.
China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on Kim Jong Un, three people familiar with the situation told Reuters.
A third-generation hereditary leader who came to power after his father’s death in 2011, Kim has no clear successor in a nuclear-armed country, which could present major international risk.
The South Korean, Chinese, and American governments have each downplayed reports that Kim was ill.
Satellite image ?2020 Maxar Technologies-38 North/Handout via REUTERS.
“I think the report was incorrect,” Trump told reporters on Thursday, but he declined to say if he had been in touch with North Korean officials.
US intelligence is reportedly monitoring the reports of Kim’s illness, though hasn’t confirmed any details.
South Korea’s government has said “no unusual developments have been detected inside North Korea.”
Trump has met Kim three times in an attempt to persuade him to give up a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States as well as its Asian neighbors. While talks have stalled, Trump has continued to hail Kim as a friend.
Reports and controls
Reporting from inside North Korea is notoriously difficult because of tight controls on information.
A Trump administration official said continuing days of North Korean media silence on Kim’s whereabouts had heightened concerns about his condition, and that information remained scant from a country US intelligence has long regarded as a “black box.”
The US State Department did not immediately respond to questions about the situation on Saturday.
Daily NK, a Seoul-based website that reports on North Korea, cited one unnamed source in North Korea on Monday as saying that Kim had undergone medical treatment in the resort county of Hyangsan north of the capital Pyongyang.
KCNA via REUTERS
It said that Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure on April 12.
Since then, multiple South Korean media reports have cited unnamed sources this week saying that Kim might be staying in the Wonsan area.
On Friday, local news agency Newsis cited South Korean intelligence sources as reporting that a special train for Kim’s use had been seen in Wonsan, while Kim’s private plane remained in Pyongyang.
Newsis reported Kim may be sheltering from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Kim, believed to be 36, has disappeared from coverage in North Korean state media before. In 2014, he vanished for more than a month and North Korean state TV later showed him walking with a limp.
Speculation about his health has been fanned by his heavy smoking, apparent weight gain since taking power and family history of cardiovascular problems.
(Reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington and Josh Smith in Seoul; Additional reporting by Matt Spetalnick; Writing by Jonathan Landay and Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Sonya Hepinstall)