Kim Jong Un might have been injured during April 14 missile tests

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un might have been injured during the tests of short-range cruise missiles on April 14, according to a former high ranking official of Room 39, an organization run by the Workers’ Party of North Korea that maintains foreign currency of “the Kims.”

In an article he wrote for this newspaper on Saturday, Lee Jeong Ho who defected from North Korea to the United States said that missile tests such as the ones carried out on April 14 could not go ahead without the order of commander-in-chief, which suggests that Kim was well until 7 a.m. when the missiles were fired.

“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,” said Lee. His thinking is that Kim might have fallen ill shortly after the missile launch given that Rodong Sinmun or the Korean Central Broadcasting Committee cannot publish footage of missile tests without the permission of Kim.

Regarding the rumors that Kim is brain dead after having heart surgery, he said they did not seem accurate or credible. “Kim Jong Un’s doctors are all from the Bonghwa hospital in Pyongyang, and other hospitals do not have first doctors,” said Lee about the claims that Kim’s surgery was performed by first doctors from other hospitals at the Hyangsan hospital near Mount Myohayng.


lightee@donga.com