A TOP US senator revealed he would be "shocked" if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is not dead or incapacitated.
Lindsey Graham spoke out amid conflicting reports about the despot's health, with some regional news outlets claiming he died after collapsing clutching his chest.
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Graham said he did not have any direct knowledge about Kim's condition.
However the Republican said he believed the fact Pyongyang was staying silent on the escalating rumors was telling.
The South Carolina Republican told Fox News: "It's a closed society. I haven't heard anything directly, but I'll be shocked if he's not dead or in some incapacitated state because you don't let rumors like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society which is really a cult, not a country, called north Korea.
"So I pretty well believe he is dead or incapacitated. And I hope the long suffering north Korean people will get some relief if he is dead."
He added: "President Trump is willing to do business with North Korea in a win-win fashion.
"So if this guy is dead, I hope the guy who takes over will work with President Trump to make North Korea a better place for everybody."
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Meanwhile, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said this morning he is monitoring the situation closely.
"I have seen the international media reports," he told Sky News "but we don't have any verified state of play on that yet but obviously we are following very carefully those reports."
The US are also closely monitoring the situation as China dispatched a medical team in an attempt to find out the truth from the highly secretive nation.
It followed days of speculation over the health of the tubby 36-year-old, who has not seen publicly for two weeks.
Chinese journalist Shijian Xingzou said a “very solid source” told her the North Korean leader had died.
She has 15 million followers on Chinese social media site Weibo, and she is also the niece of one of the the country's foreign ministers.
Separately, a Japanese media outlet claimed Kim was in a “vegetative state” after undergoing heart surgery.
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Weekly newspaper Shukan Gendai claimed he was visiting the countryside when he clutched his chest and collapsed.
A member of his entourage gave CPR and escorted him to hospital.
But the dictator was left severely ill after a delayed or botched procedure to fit a stent in an artery, it was claimed.
Another report from Beijing claimed that the heart op went wrong because the terrified surgeon’s hands kept shaking.
Kim was last seen on April 11 at a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party to discuss the coronavirus threat.
On Tuesday Daily NK, an online newspaper based in South Korea, claimed the surgery was on April 12.
It forced him to miss the national birthday celebrations of his late grandfather and North Korea’s founder Kim Il Sung.
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Other rumors stated he was staying at his holiday home in Wonsan after leaving Pyongyang as advisors had contracted coronavirus.
Satellite pictures released by North Korea watchers 38 North reveal what is believed to be his private armoured train parked near the resort this week.
US national security adviser Robert O’Brien confirmed on Wednesday the Trump administration was monitoring the reports on Kim's health “very closely”.
But South Korean officials reported no unusual activity within its neighbor, and President Trump later said he thought the reports of Kim’s ill-health were “incorrect”.
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Trump, who met Kim in 2018, said “I think the report was incorrect,” though he declined to say if he had been in touch with North Korean officials.
North Korea remains silent and its likely the world will not know for sure whether he is dead or ill until it is announced on the secretive regime's carefully controlled state TV.
Speaking on Friday, a South Korean government source reiterated that their intelligence was that Kim was still alive and should be making an appearance soon.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiR2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZXN1bi5jby51ay9uZXdzLzExNDgzODE1L2tpbS1qb25nLXVuLWxpbmRzZXktZ3JhaGFtLWRlYWQv0gFLaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlc3VuLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvMTE0ODM4MTUva2ltLWpvbmctdW4tbGluZHNleS1ncmFoYW0tZGVhZC9hbXAv?oc=5
2020-04-26 13:48:21Z
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