North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sudden disappearance from the public eye most likely means the dictator is unwell, Gordon Chang, the Daily Beast columnist and author of books on China and North Korea, told Newsmax TV on Monday.
"Well, the most recent rumor is that he was injured in an April 14 launch of cruise missiles in North Korea, and that's actually got some circumstantial evidence to support it, because a cruise missile launch could not occur in North Korea without Kim Jong Un's approval," Chang, author of the book, "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World," told "Newsmax Now" on Monday afternoon.
"Now, Kim has been at every missile launch but one over his rule, and there's always been pictures released afterwards, which is a real indication that something might have gone wrong" April 14.
Chang said the dictator's lack of public appearances "is a breaking of the normal patterns of behavior of the regime. Kim Jong Un has attended every Day of the Sun celebration that's [on] April 15, which commemorates the birth of Kim Il Sung, regime founder and the granddad of Kim Jong Un, and for him not to show up this year said something was wrong."
He added, Kim also "didn't show up on Saturday, which marked the founding of the Korean People's Army. So, that's twice no-shows, and that's a real indication that something is wrong. We don't know what it is, but I don't believe the South Korean reports that he is alive and well. Yes, he can be 'alive,' but 'well?' No, I don't think so."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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