Minggu, 03 Mei 2020

Shocking pics of Wuhan scientists handling bat samples deleted from website of institute blamed for - The Sun

WORRYING photographs of scientists handling bat samples have been deleted from the website of the institute blamed for the coronavirus pandemic.

The images - which reveal a shocking lack of safety - were taken down by the Wuhan Institute of Virology after diplomats and scientists raised the alarm about its work.

⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates

 A page of the institute’s website - deleted suddenly last month - shows no such safety precautions were employed

8

A page of the institute’s website - deleted suddenly last month - shows no such safety precautions were employed
 US and British intelligence officials suspect bungling scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology accidentally spread the killer disease during risky coronavirus tests on bats

8

US and British intelligence officials suspect bungling scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology accidentally spread the killer disease during risky coronavirus tests on bats

And it appears to have also removed all reference to a visit in March 2018 by Rick Switzer, a science and technology expert from the US embassy in Beijing who then raised the alert.

As a result of his visit, cables were sent to the US State Department from the embassy warning about the risks of  experiments on bats.

One read: "During interactions with scientists at the WIV laboratory, they noted the new lab has a serious shortage of appropriately trained technicians and investigators needed to safely operate this high-containment laboratory."

US and British intelligence officials suspect bungling scientists at the science hub spread the killer disease during risky coronavirus tests on bats.

And President Donald Trump announced on Thursday he had seen intelligence that gave him a "high degree of confidence'" that the global crisis had its origins in the institute.

It was claimed that Covid-19 was "developed in the Wuhan lab as China hoped to prove it's greater than the US at battling deadly diseases".

 This image shows a loose seal on the door next to the lab worker's head

8

This image shows a loose seal on the door next to the lab worker's head
 The Wuhan Institute of Virology has been blamed by some officials for a leak of the virus

8

The Wuhan Institute of Virology has been blamed by some officials for a leak of the virusCredit: AFP - Getty

The Sun has already revealed a page of the Wuhan institute’s website - deleted suddenly last month - showed no safety precautions were employed.

One worker admitted being sprayed with bat blood or urine as images showed staff brazenly collecting samples with no face masks or protective suits.

Incredibly some scientists didn’t even wear gloves as they entered caves to collect fecal bat swab samples, beaming for the camera and oblivious to the dangers.

The damning photos tell a different story to an official 2017 journal, when the institute insisted: "Bat samplings were conducted ten times from April 2011 to October 2015 at different seasons in their natural habitat at a single location (cave) in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China.

“All members of field teams wore appropriate personal protective equipment, including N95 masks, tear-resistant gloves, disposable outerwear, and safety glasses.

“Bats were trapped and fecal swab samples were collected as described previously.”

One of the party even gave an interview to state-run news agency Xinhua, admitting he forgot his protective gear and was sprayed with bat urine or blood.

Intelligence sources in the US and UK were “monitoring the deleted photos with great interest”, The Sun was told.

8

Matthew Henderson, director of the Asia Studies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society, and a former British diplomat in China, told The Sun: "China has still not clearly explained how the outbreak started, without it we are obliged to draw our own conclusions.

“There is ample evidence of such a cavalier approach to biosecurity by Chinese scientists based in Wuhan laboratories that it is no surprise that western Governments are now seriously considering whether COVID-19 could have escaped from one."

Earlier this month photos from the same Wuhan lab showed a broken seal on a store containing 1,500 virus strains - including the bat coronavirus linked to the devastating pandemic.

The images were published by the state-owned China Daily before they too were swiftly deleted.

A picture of the fridge-freezer revealed a flimsy loose seal on the door, as a lab worker pulled out a chilled box containing deadly samples while wearing gloves and a mask.

Several insiders claimed the deadly bug wasn't manufactured as a bioweapon but to prove China was on par with - or superior to - the US, in its ability to fight infections.

“Patient zero" was a laboratory worker at the Wuhan lab who spread the virus into the community, sources said.

 Some scientists didn’t even wear gloves as they entered caves to collect fecal bat swab samples, beaming for the camera and oblivious to the dangers

8

Some scientists didn’t even wear gloves as they entered caves to collect fecal bat swab samples, beaming for the camera and oblivious to the dangers
 US officials warned two years ago that safety lapses during the study of bats could lead to a coronavirus outbreak

8

US officials warned two years ago that safety lapses during the study of bats could lead to a coronavirus outbreak

When President Trump was asked about the extraordinary claims, he said: "More and more we’re hearing the story.

"And we'll see. We are doing a very thorough examination of this horrible situation that happened."

Blaming the Wuhan meat market - where bats are not sold - was reportedly an effort to deflect blame from the communist government when the lab's containment efforts failed.

US officials warned two years ago that safety lapses during the study of bats could lead to a coronavirus outbreak.

Secret cables from American embassy officials were obtained following their 2018 visits to the Wuhan lab now at the centre of a global focus.

The missives revealed fears of inadequate safety precautions by those conducting the bat studies could result in a deadly new strain of coronavirus.

One US official said: “The cable was a warning shot. They were begging people to pay attention to what was going on.”

The cables reveal that the US Embassy in Beijing took the unusual step of repeatedly sending science diplomats to the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

In 2015, the lab had become China’s first to achieve the highest level of international bioresearch safety.

But the cables argued that the US should give the Wuhan lab further support – because its research on bat coronaviruses was important but dangerous.

In 2017 the institute published research showing that horseshoe bats they collected from a cave in Yunnan province were very likely from the same population that spawned the 2003 SARS virus.

The Chinese government has put a total lockdown on information related to the virus origins.

Beijing has yet to provide samples of the coronavirus collected from the earliest cases.

Officials at the Wuhan lab have dismissed allegations coronavirus came from their facility, branding them ‘baseless conspiracy theories’.

But genetic evidence indicates the virus was not artificially engineered and likely originated in bats.

The genetic data cannot yet indicate exactly where and how the virus first crossed to humans.

China President Xi Jinping warned the public about the virus on January 20 - when more than 3,000 people had been infected during almost a week of public silence.

During the six days the world was unaware of the virus, the city of Wuhan - the epicentre of the global outbreak - hosted a mass banquet for tens of thousands of people, and millions began to travel through for Lunar New Year celebrations.

On March 11, the virus was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization.

Other reports have also emerged alleging China attempted to cover up its role in the extent of the pandemic by silencing whistleblowers and muzzling scientists, while concerned doctors have ominously disappeared.

 Wuhan Baishazhou Market in Wuhan in China's central Hubei province

8

Wuhan Baishazhou Market in Wuhan in China's central Hubei provinceCredit: AFP or licensors
US 'conducting full-scale investigation to find out if coronavirus escaped from Wuhan lab'

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiYmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnRoZXN1bi5jby51ay9uZXdzLzExNTM3MDIxL3Nob2NraW5nLXBpY3Mtb2Ytd3VoYW4tc2NpZW50aXN0cy1iYXRzLWRlbGV0ZWQtY29yb25hdmlydXMv0gFmaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cudGhlc3VuLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvMTE1MzcwMjEvc2hvY2tpbmctcGljcy1vZi13dWhhbi1zY2llbnRpc3RzLWJhdHMtZGVsZXRlZC1jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy9hbXAv?oc=5

2020-05-03 09:05:27Z
52780762027004

North and South Korea in gunfire exchange after Kim Jong-un reappears - BBC News

North and South Korea in gunfire exchange after Kim Jong-un reappears - BBC News
File photo of the DMZ Image copyright Getty Images

North and South Korea have exchanged gunfire in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) which divides the two countries.

Seoul's military said shots from the North hit a South Korean guard post in the central border town of Cheorwon.

It said it returned fire and delivered a warning announcement. There are no reports of injuries.

Such incidents across the world's most heavily fortified border are rare - the last occurred in 2017. It is not clear what led the North to open fire.

Military officials in the South say there was no sign of unusual troop movements. They are trying to find out if this was an accident or deliberate.

Analysis box by Laura Bicker, Seoul correspondent

There's a "low possibility" that the shots fired by North Korea were intentional, according to the South Korean military. But at this stage is unclear how they've made that assessment.

Even if was an accident or a miscalculation, it shows just how important it is for troops to keep level heads in the heavily fortified DMZ to ensure the situation isn't made much worse.

If it was a more tactical decision by North Korea then that's a very different matter.

The timing is interesting. It's just 24 hours since the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un re-appeared after a 21-day absence. There have also been a large number of military drills in the North in recent months to improve readiness to fight an "actual war", according to state media.

Pyongyang has sometimes used the tactic of escalate to de-escalate, using its military posturing as leverage in later negotiations.

But any sign of direct fire will be a disappointment to many in South Korea. There has been a lot of work in the last two years to ease tensions between the two countries after President Moon Jae-in met Kim Jong-un. The two sides signed a military agreement - any deliberate shots fired would breach that pact.

Presentational grey line

The last time the North opened fire on the South happened in 2017 when a North Korean soldier made a dash across the military demarcation line to defect.

The demilitarised zone (DMZ) was set up after the Korean War in 1953 in order to create a buffer zone between the two countries.

For the past two years, the government in Seoul has tried to turn the heavily fortified border into a peace zone.

Easing military tensions at the border was one of the agreements reached between the leaders of the two countries held a summit in Pyongyang in September 2018.

Kim Jong-un's reappearance in public, reported by North Korean state media on Friday, followed an almost-three-week unexplained absence that sparked intense global speculation about his health.


Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiMGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy9hbXAvd29ybGQtYXNpYS01MjUxODg0NNIBMGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy9hbXAvd29ybGQtYXNpYS01MjUxODg0NA?oc=5

2020-05-03 08:39:00Z
52780758436825

Sabtu, 02 Mei 2020

North Korea and South Korea exchange gunfire in Demilitarised Zone - The Loppy

North Korea and South Korea have exchanged gunfire around a southern guard post – the first time there has been gunfire at the border since 2017.

The shots were fired across the border by North Korean troops at 7.41am and South Korea responded by broadcasting a warning and firing two shots at the North, according to the South’s joint chiefs of staff.

South Korean news agency Yonhap reported the office as saying: “Our military is in the process of grasping the situation with the North through the military communication line and preventing further situations from occurring.”

No injuries were reported in South Korea, although it is not known if there were any casualties for the North.

When the Korean War ended in 1953, the two sides only signed truce, not a peace treaty, meaning they are technically still at war.

The border between the two countries – the Demilitarised Zone – is guarded by barbed wire fences, tank traps and combat troops on both sides.

It also has an estimated two million mines along it.

The last time there was gunfire at the border was in 2017, when North Koreans fired on a soldier trying to defect to the South.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, visits a fertilizer factory in South Pyongan, near Pyongyang, North Korea
Image:
Kim Jong Un was surrounded by officials during his visit to a fertiliser plant

The latest rise in tension comes after weeks of speculation about the health of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.

Mr Kim had been absent from public life since 11 April until he was photographed visiting a fertiliser plant during the weekend.

There had been reports that the leader, who is obese and a heavy smoker, was gravely ill following surgery last month.

According to the state media’s report, the 36-year-old had expressed satisfaction about the factory’s production levels, cut a ribbon, and was met with “thunderous cheers of ‘hurrah!'”.

He was with several senior officials, including his younger sister Kim Yo Jong, who is expected to take over if her brother is suddenly unable to rule.

US President Donald Trump said he was “glad to see (Mr Kim) back and well”.

Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un
Image:
Kim Yo Jong, sister of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un

There were questions about his health after he missed the anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung on 15 April.

This is a major holiday in North Korea and he would usually visit the mausoleum where his grandfather lies in state.

Instead, he was absent for the first time since taking power in 2011.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiYmh0dHA6Ly90aGVsb3BweS5jb20vbm9ydGgta29yZWEtYW5kLXNvdXRoLWtvcmVhLWV4Y2hhbmdlLWd1bmZpcmUtaW4tZGVtaWxpdGFyaXNlZC16b25lLXdvcmxkLW5ld3Mv0gFmaHR0cDovL3RoZWxvcHB5LmNvbS9ub3J0aC1rb3JlYS1hbmQtc291dGgta29yZWEtZXhjaGFuZ2UtZ3VuZmlyZS1pbi1kZW1pbGl0YXJpc2VkLXpvbmUtd29ybGQtbmV3cy8_YW1w?oc=5

2020-05-03 05:58:42Z
52780758436825

North and South Korea exchange gunfire at border - BBC News

North and South Korea have exchanged gunfire in the Demilitarised Zone which divides the two countries.

Gunshots fired by North Korea at 07:41 (23:41 BST) hit a South Korean guard post in the central border town of Cheorwon, Seoul's military said.

No casualties were reported on the South Korean side.

In response, South Korea fired "two rounds of gunfire and a warning announcement according to our manual", the military statement said.

It is not clear what provoked the initial gunshots. The joint chiefs of staff (JCS) said that they were trying to contact North Korea through their military hotline to determine the cause of the incident.

This is the first time in five years that North Korean troops have directly fired on the South.

The demilitarised zone (DMZ) was set up after the Korean War in 1953 in order to create a buffer zone between the two countries.

For the past two years, the government in Seoul has tried to turn the heavily fortified border into a peace zone.

Easing military tensions at the border was one of the agreements reached between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a summit in Pyongyang in September 2018.

This exchange of gunfire comes a day after Kim Jong-un appeared in public, following an almost-three-week unexplained absence that sparked intense global speculation about his health.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiLmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLWFzaWEtNTI1MTg4NDTSATJodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY28udWsvbmV3cy9hbXAvd29ybGQtYXNpYS01MjUxODg0NA?oc=5

2020-05-03 05:27:51Z
52780758436825

Kim Jong-un: Trump 'glad' about reappearance of North Korean leader - BBC News

Media playback is unsupported on your device

US President Donald Trump has said he is "glad" that Kim Jong-un has re-emerged and appears to be healthy.

"I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!" Mr Trump tweeted, after the North Korean leader reportedly attended the opening of a fertiliser plant.

It was Mr Kim's first public appearance in almost three weeks.

His absence - particularly from his late grandfather's birthday celebration on 15 April - had sparked intense global speculation over his health.

KCNA news agency reported that Mr Kim cut the ribbon at the opening of the fertiliser factory on Friday, and added that crowds "broke into thunderous cheers of hurrah" when he appeared.

On Monday, amid speculation and rumour about Mr Kim's health, President Trump had said he had a "very good idea" about Mr Kim's condition, but added that "I can't talk about it".

"I just wish him well," he added at the time.

President Trump and Mr Kim have developed a unique relationship in recent years.

The two men have met three times since 2018, and have exchanged personal letters with each other that Mr Trump has described as "excellent".

However, talks about the denuclearisation of North Korea have stalled in recent months.

What did the state media report say?

According to Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Mr Kim was accompanied by several senior North Korean officials, including his sister Kim Yo-jong.

The North Korean leader cut a ribbon at a ceremony at the plant, in a region north of Pyongyang, and people who were attending the event "burst into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!' for the Supreme Leader who is commanding the all-people general march for accomplishing the great cause of prosperity", KCNA said.

Mr Kim said he was satisfied with the factory's production system, and praised it for contributing to the progress of the country's chemical industry and food production, the state news agency added.

What started speculation about his health?

Speculation about Mr Kim's health began after he missed the birth anniversary celebrations of his grandfather, state founder Kim Il-sung on 15 April.

The anniversary is one of the biggest events in the North Korean calendar, and Mr Kim usually marks it by visiting the mausoleum where his grandfather lies. Mr Kim had never missed this event.

Claims about Mr Kim's ill-health then surfaced in a report for a website run by North Korean defectors.

An anonymous source told the Daily NK that they understood he had been struggling with cardiovascular problems since last August "but it worsened after repeated visits to Mount Paektu".

This led to a chain of reporting by international media on a single-sourced story.

News agencies then began to run with that claim, and it was all they had until some reports emerged that intelligence agencies in South Korea and the US were monitoring the claim.

But then came a more sensational headline in US media that the North Korean leader was in a critical condition after heart surgery.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared to stoke the rumours on 29 April, by saying US officials "hadn't seen" Mr Kim recently.

However, a statement from the South Korean government, and sources at Chinese intelligence - speaking to the Reuters news agency - said this was not true.

Has Kim Jong-un disappeared before?

Yes. Mr Kim went missing for 40 days in September 2014, after attending a concert. He reappeared in mid-October, using a cane.

State media never explained where he had been. But South Korea's intelligence agency said he probably had an operation on his left ankle stemming from problems with a cyst.

Caution is often tossed aside when reporting on North Korea. Thinly sourced, wildly speculative rumours can feed an industry aware that sensationalist headlines about Kim Jong-un are great clickbait.

Reporting on the secretive state is difficult. Facts and sources are very difficult to obtain, especially since the country is even more closed off to the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The South Korean government was clear that it noted no unusual activity in the North. Seoul often has the best intelligence from Pyongyang. But even they have been wrong in the past.

Let's be clear. Kim Jong-un could have been ill, or he could have had some sort of surgical procedure in the last two weeks. Or he could have been lounging on a yacht near his villa in Wonsan laughing at the world's wild speculation. His 20 day absence is not without precedent.

There are still valid questions to be asked about a potential successor and what plans are in place should something happen to him.

But there is one thing that has been lost in all of this. North Korea is more than one man. It is a country of 25 million people who are often overlooked. Today, Mr Kim's reappearance was at a fertiliser plant. The headlines will of course focus on his return, and on where he has been rather than on whether this factory will help the country tackle chronic food shortages.

I assure you, that for the people of North Korea right now, that is just as important as the unexplained absence of their leader.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiLmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLWFzaWEtNTI1MTgxODTSATJodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY28udWsvbmV3cy9hbXAvd29ybGQtYXNpYS01MjUxODE4NA?oc=5

2020-05-03 04:35:57Z
52780758436825

Kim Jong-un: Trump 'glad' about reappearance of North Korean leader - BBC News

Media playback is unsupported on your device

US President Donald Trump has said he is "glad" that Kim Jong-un has re-emerged and appears to be healthy.

"I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!" Mr Trump tweeted, after the North Korean leader reportedly attended the opening of a fertiliser plant.

It was Mr Kim's first public appearance in almost three weeks.

His absence - particularly from his late grandfather's birthday celebration on 15 April - had sparked intense global speculation over his health.

KCNA news agency reported that Mr Kim cut the ribbon at the opening of the fertiliser factory on Friday, and added that crowds "broke into thunderous cheers of hurrah" when he appeared.

On Monday, amid speculation and rumour about Mr Kim's health, President Trump had said he had a "very good idea" about Mr Kim's condition, but added that "I can't talk about it".

"I just wish him well," he added at the time.

President Trump and Mr Kim have developed a unique relationship in recent years.

The two men have met three times since 2018, and have exchanged personal letters with each other that Mr Trump has described as "excellent".

However, talks about the denuclearisation of North Korea have stalled in recent months.

What did the state media report say?

According to Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Mr Kim was accompanied by several senior North Korean officials, including his sister Kim Yo-jong.

The North Korean leader cut a ribbon at a ceremony at the plant, in a region north of Pyongyang, and people who were attending the event "burst into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!' for the Supreme Leader who is commanding the all-people general march for accomplishing the great cause of prosperity", KCNA said.

Mr Kim said he was satisfied with the factory's production system, and praised it for contributing to the progress of the country's chemical industry and food production, the state news agency added.

What started speculation about his health?

Speculation about Mr Kim's health began after he missed the birth anniversary celebrations of his grandfather, state founder Kim Il-sung on 15 April.

The anniversary is one of the biggest events in the North Korean calendar, and Mr Kim usually marks it by visiting the mausoleum where his grandfather lies. Mr Kim had never missed this event.

Claims about Mr Kim's ill-health then surfaced in a report for a website run by North Korean defectors.

An anonymous source told the Daily NK that they understood he had been struggling with cardiovascular problems since last August "but it worsened after repeated visits to Mount Paektu".

This led to a chain of reporting by international media on a single-sourced story.

News agencies then began to run with that claim, and it was all they had until some reports emerged that intelligence agencies in South Korea and the US were monitoring the claim.

But then came a more sensational headline in US media that the North Korean leader was in a critical condition after heart surgery.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared to stoke the rumours on 29 April, by saying US officials "hadn't seen" Mr Kim recently.

However, a statement from the South Korean government, and sources at Chinese intelligence - speaking to the Reuters news agency - said this was not true.

Has Kim Jong-un disappeared before?

Yes. Mr Kim went missing for 40 days in September 2014, after attending a concert. He reappeared in mid-October, using a cane.

State media never explained where he had been. But South Korea's intelligence agency said he probably had an operation on his left ankle stemming from problems with a cyst.

Caution is often tossed aside when reporting on North Korea. Thinly sourced, wildly speculative rumours can feed an industry aware that sensationalist headlines about Kim Jong-un are great clickbait.

Reporting on the secretive state is difficult. Facts and sources are very difficult to obtain, especially since the country is even more closed off to the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The South Korean government was clear that it noted no unusual activity in the North. Seoul often has the best intelligence from Pyongyang. But even they have been wrong in the past.

Let's be clear. Kim Jong-un could have been ill, or he could have had some sort of surgical procedure in the last two weeks. Or he could have been lounging on a yacht near his villa in Wonsan laughing at the world's wild speculation. His 20 day absence is not without precedent.

There are still valid questions to be asked about a potential successor and what plans are in place should something happen to him.

But there is one thing that has been lost in all of this. North Korea is more than one man. It is a country of 25 million people who are often overlooked. Today, Mr Kim's reappearance was at a fertiliser plant. The headlines will of course focus on his return, and on where he has been rather than on whether this factory will help the country tackle chronic food shortages.

I assure you, that for the people of North Korea right now, that is just as important as the unexplained absence of their leader.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiLmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLWFzaWEtNTI1MTgxODTSATJodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY28udWsvbmV3cy9hbXAvd29ybGQtYXNpYS01MjUxODE4NA?oc=5

2020-05-03 03:48:00Z
52780758436825

Kim Jong-un: Trump 'glad' about reappearance of North Korean leader - BBC News

Media playback is unsupported on your device

US President Donald Trump has said he is "glad" that Kim Jong-un has re-emerged and appears to be healthy.

"I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!" Mr Trump tweeted, after the North Korean leader reportedly attended the opening of a fertiliser plant.

It was Mr Kim's first public appearance in almost three weeks.

His absence - particularly from his late grandfather's birthday celebration on 15 April - had sparked intense global speculation over his health.

KCNA news agency reported that Mr Kim cut the ribbon at the opening of the fertiliser factory on Friday, and added that crowds "broke into thunderous cheers of hurrah" when he appeared.

On Monday, amid speculation and rumour about Mr Kim's health, President Trump had said he had a "very good idea" about Mr Kim's condition, but added that "I can't talk about it".

"I just wish him well," he added at the time.

President Trump and Mr Kim have developed a unique relationship in recent years.

The two men have met three times since 2018, and have exchanged personal letters with each other that Mr Trump has described as "excellent".

However, talks about the denuclearisation of North Korea have stalled in recent months.

What did the state media report say?

According to Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Mr Kim was accompanied by several senior North Korean officials, including his sister Kim Yo-jong.

The North Korean leader cut a ribbon at a ceremony at the plant, in a region north of Pyongyang, and people who were attending the event "burst into thunderous cheers of 'hurrah!' for the Supreme Leader who is commanding the all-people general march for accomplishing the great cause of prosperity", KCNA said.

Mr Kim said he was satisfied with the factory's production system, and praised it for contributing to the progress of the country's chemical industry and food production, the state news agency added.

What started speculation about his health?

Speculation about Mr Kim's health began after he missed the birth anniversary celebrations of his grandfather, state founder Kim Il-sung on 15 April.

The anniversary is one of the biggest events in the North Korean calendar, and Mr Kim usually marks it by visiting the mausoleum where his grandfather lies. Mr Kim had never missed this event.

Claims about Mr Kim's ill-health then surfaced in a report for a website run by North Korean defectors.

An anonymous source told the Daily NK that they understood he had been struggling with cardiovascular problems since last August "but it worsened after repeated visits to Mount Paektu".

This led to a chain of reporting by international media on a single-sourced story.

News agencies then began to run with that claim, and it was all they had until some reports emerged that intelligence agencies in South Korea and the US were monitoring the claim.

But then came a more sensational headline in US media that the North Korean leader was in a critical condition after heart surgery.

Media playback is unsupported on your device

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo appeared to stoke the rumours on 29 April, by saying US officials "hadn't seen" Mr Kim recently.

However, a statement from the South Korean government, and sources at Chinese intelligence - speaking to the Reuters news agency - said this was not true.

Has Kim Jong-un disappeared before?

Yes. Mr Kim went missing for 40 days in September 2014, after attending a concert. He reappeared in mid-October, using a cane.

State media never explained where he had been. But South Korea's intelligence agency said he probably had an operation on his left ankle stemming from problems with a cyst.

Caution is often tossed aside when reporting on North Korea. Thinly sourced, wildly speculative rumours can feed an industry aware that sensationalist headlines about Kim Jong-un are great clickbait.

Reporting on the secretive state is difficult. Facts and sources are very difficult to obtain, especially since the country is even more closed off to the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The South Korean government was clear that it noted no unusual activity in the North. Seoul often has the best intelligence from Pyongyang. But even they have been wrong in the past.

Let's be clear. Kim Jong-un could have been ill, or he could have had some sort of surgical procedure in the last two weeks. Or he could have been lounging on a yacht near his villa in Wonsan laughing at the world's wild speculation. His 20 day absence is not without precedent.

There are still valid questions to be asked about a potential successor and what plans are in place should something happen to him.

But there is one thing that has been lost in all of this. North Korea is more than one man. It is a country of 25 million people who are often overlooked. Today, Mr Kim's reappearance was at a fertiliser plant. The headlines will of course focus on his return, and on where he has been rather than on whether this factory will help the country tackle chronic food shortages.

I assure you, that for the people of North Korea right now, that is just as important as the unexplained absence of their leader.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiLmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLWFzaWEtNTI1MTgxODTSATJodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY28udWsvbmV3cy9hbXAvd29ybGQtYXNpYS01MjUxODE4NA?oc=5

2020-05-03 02:56:43Z
CBMiLmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jby51ay9uZXdzL3dvcmxkLWFzaWEtNTI1MTgxODTSATJodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY28udWsvbmV3cy9hbXAvd29ybGQtYXNpYS01MjUxODE4NA