Kim Jong Un in a ‘vegetative state’ after heart surgery – Japanese Media
China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on him, according to three people familiar with the situation.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s health is reportedly in a vegetative state after undergoing a failed cardiovascular procedure earlier this month, according to the medical team treating him.
Amid conflicting reports about Kim’s health, Japanese weekly magazine Shukan Gendai reported on Friday that a Chinese medical team member on the mission to North Korea briefly explained the situation to its senior writer, Kondm Daisuke.
The medical expert said during a visit to the countryside earlier this month, Kim clutched his chest and fell to the ground. A doctor accompanying Kim immediately carried out CPR and took him to a nearby hospital for emergency care.
China has dispatched a team to North Korea including medical experts to advise on him, according to four people familiar with the situation.
Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by the Chinese team signaled in terms of Kim’s health. However Shukan Gendai‘s report claims they were called to the leader’s aid by his accompanying doctor after the incident.
A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party’s International Liaison Department left Beijing for North Korea on Thursday, two of the people said. The department is the main Chinese body dealing with neighboring North Korea.
The sources declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.
The Liaison Department could not be reached by Reuters for comment late on Friday. China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment late on Friday.
Daily NK, a Seoul-based website, reported earlier this week that Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure on April 12. It cited one unnamed source in North Korea.
South Korean government officials and a Chinese official with the Liaison Department challenged subsequent reports suggesting that Kim was in grave danger after surgery. South Korean officials said they had detected no signs of unusual activity in North Korea.
