Kim Jong Un continues to lie low amid coronavirus pandemic

By Yaron Steinbuch

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Three weeks after Kim Jong Un was last seen publicly, questions continue to swirl about his whereabouts as a South Korean daily cited a Seoul official as saying the reclusive leader may simply be carrying out his duties from his favorite villa in Wonsan, according to a report.

Kim’s low profile comes as the Hermit Kingdom imposes anti-coronavirus measures, although Pyongyang insists it has no confirmed COVID-19 cases.

South Korean officials have said they believe his limited public appearances may have been due to precautions in the face of the pandemic.

North Korea has canceled, postponed or toned down many major public gatherings because of the outbreak.

The reclusive despot has appeared publicly four times in April and so far in May — compared to 27 times in the same period last year, Reuters reported.

Since coming to power in 2011, the previous fewest public appearances he has made during those months was 21 in 2017, according to a tally by Chad O’Carroll, CEO of the Seoul-based Korea Risk Group, which tracks North Korea.

“This is not business as normal,” he said on Twitter this week.

When asked about Kim’s absences, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Friday it was monitoring the situation, but noted that he is often out of the public eye.

Rachel Minyoung Lee, a former North Korea open source intelligence analyst in the US government, speculated that Kim also may simply be focused on some of the domestic economic and political goals he outlined before the health crisis struck.

“COVID does remain a major concern for the country, but state media coverage of COVID has declined over the past month or so, so I don’t see regime’s increased concern,” she told Reuters.

North Korean state media reported that Kim attended the opening ceremony of a fertilizer plant on May 1.

His earlier absence on April 15 from one of North Korea’s biggest holidays in commemoration of his grandfather Kim Il Sung’s birthday sparked weeks of international speculation over his health and whereabouts.

Since then, state media have carried a steady stream of stories about the leader sending or receiving letters and diplomatic correspondence, but have not shown him at public events.