Kim Jong Un sports black leather trench coat as he is seen in public for the first time since death of Qassem Soleimani, following rumours he’d gone into hiding since US drone strike
- Kim Hong Un made public appearance amid rumours he had gone into hiding
- He wore a leather trench coat as he offered ‘field guidance’ to factory workers
- There’s precedent for N. Korean rulers vanishing at times of international crisis
Kim Jong-un has been seen in public for the first time since the death of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, demolishing rumours that he had gone to ground in the wake of the assassination.
The North Korean leader had not been seen since December 31, when he warned that he would restart missile and nuclear weapons tests unless the US ‘rolls back its hostile policy’.
And following the death of General Soleimani, with the North’s propaganda silent about the attack, rumours abounded in neighbouring South Korea that the tyrant was lying low.
But now he has surfaced, offering some of his notorious ‘field guidance’ to workers at fertilizer factory under construction in Sunchon, South Pyongan Province.
Kim Jong-un seen in public for the first time since the death of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, demolishing rumours that he had gone to ground
The North Korean leader visited a fertilizer factory under construction in Sunchon, South Pyongan Province
Kim Jong-un gives ‘field guidance’ to workers at fertilizer factory
There’s precedent for North Korean rulers vanishing at times of international crisis. Former leader Kim Jong-il vanished from the public eye for 25 days after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, and disappeared for 50 days following the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
But the current leader has snubbed the practice. ‘Chairman Kim has stressed the personal friendly relations he has built up with President Donald Trump,’ a Seoul official told South Korea’s JoongAng Daily newspaper.
‘Either he recognizes that he is different from Soleimani or he has an intention to show off the construction work.’ A report on Kim’s outing made no reference to the assassination or the tyrant’s ongoing dispute with the US.
Kim Jong-un gives ‘field guidance’ to workers at fertilizer factory. There’s precedent for North Korean rulers vanishing at times of international crisis
Kim Jong-un gives ‘field guidance’ to workers. ‘Chairman Kim has stressed the personal friendly relations he has built up with President Donald Trump,’ a Seoul official told South Korea’s JoongAng Daily newspaper
In fact, the subject has hardly been touched upon by the North’s propaganda networks. State broadcaster KCNA ran only a small report yesterday noting that China and Russia had condemned a US strike in Baghdad.
The victims of the strike were not named and no sense was given of the gravity of the attack.
On Tuesday, another brief report described an antiwar demonstration in the US capital.
Kim Jong-un gives ‘field guidance’ to workers at fertilizer factory
Kim Jong-un gives ‘field guidance’ to workers at fertilizer factory
Kim Jong-un’s reappearance comes amid reports that South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) had concluded it was ‘impossible’ for him to give up his nuclear weapons.
The finding was briefed to Lee Eun-jae, a member of the opposition in the South’s National Assembly, by an NIS official.
She was told that the North believed its future security could never be surrendered, ‘thus a method of negotiations involving an exchange of nuclear weapons for sanctions is not possible’.
The fertilizer factory visited by Kim Jon-un on Tuesday