Rumors and speculations are flying over the current health condition of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. However, all those rumors and speculations intensified over this past weekend, as yet to be verified reports of the leader being visited by various Chinese medical teams as well as the reported movement of the leader's armored train.
According to a Reuters report on Saturday, China had sent a group of senior diplomats, along with a team of doctors, to offer advice to its longtime ally and neighbor.
In the meantime, an analysis of imagery taken by satellite by website 38 North was released Sunday, showing that a train that resembled that used by rulers of North Korean was parked last week near a leadership near the coastal area of Wonsan.
Even with these latest developments, there has been little not no light recently shed on the actual condition of the 36-year-old North Korean ruler.
US officials have been initially told that Kim, a heavy smoker who had gained a considerable about of weight since 2011 when he took power, had been in critical condition following cardiovascular-related surgery.
There is also the fact that reports indicate that not only has Kim failed to make any appearances in state media for at least two weeks, but for the first time, missed the April 15th celebrations of his late grandfather who founded the state, Kim Il Sung.
With health scares such as this, there is also the fear that any current North Korean leadership change that may occur would only prove to weaken the stability of both the countries borders as well as the current regime—one that is has a foundation in iron-fisted authority.
There is also the worry that at this time, Kim currently has no heir to serve as a successor.
The rumored health mystery resulted in journalists, diplomats, and others scrambling to access every source of information possible—satellite images, state news outlets, and even social media outlets, in an effort to find any clue whatsoever about Kim’s true health condition.
On social media platform Twitter, the top trending hashtag Saturday was #kimjongundead. Also trending on Saturday was Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister, and as it seems, a potential successor of Kim's.
In a tweet posted Saturday by Korean Friendship Association head, Alejandro Cao de Benos: “Information about the serious state of health of our Marshal Kim Jong Un is false and malicious.”
Is it possible that Kim Jong Un is, in fact, so ill, and could this mean major global shakeups down the road?