TouchVision
KIM JONG-UN'S SECOND APPEARANCE
South Korea's spy agency
believes North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, who recently dropped out of
public view for nearly six weeks, had surgery to remove a cyst from his
ankle, Yonhap news agency reported Tuesday.
In a briefing
for legislators, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) said it also
had information that Kim had demoted around 200 military officers and
that 50 executions had been carried out in the North so far this year.
Citing
ruling and opposition party MPs present at the briefing, Yonhap said
the intelligence shared by NIS suggested a cyst had been found in Kim's
ankle joint back in May.
Foreign
medical experts were flown to Pyongyang to carry out an operation to
remove the cyst sometime in September or October, the agency said.
Kim dropped out of sight after attending a music concert with his wife in early September.
His
prolonged and unexplained absence fuelled rampant speculation about his
health and even rumours of a coup in the nuclear-armed state.
He finally reappeared in
mid-October, with state media showing him using a walking stick as he
conducted a series on inspection visits to new residential complexes in
Pyongyang.
Competing theories
for his absence had ranged widely from an extended rest period to a
leadership coup, via a long list of possible illnesses and ailments
including broken ankles, gout and diabetes.
Kim,
a heavy smoker, has shown striking weight gain since coming to power
and TV footage just prior to his "disappearance" had shown him walking
with a pronounced limp.
The NIS intelligence suggested that Kim's weight problem could hamper his recovery from ankle surgery.
Of
the 50 executions carried out this year, the NIS said a number were
related to an ongoing purge of those close to Kim's uncle and one-time
political mentor Jang Song-Thaek.
Jang was executed last December on charges of treason and corruption.
On
the demotion of the 200 military officers, the NIS said the apparent
reason was under-performance in strategic artillery drills.
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια :
Δημοσίευση σχολίου