(LEAD) Trump says 'We don't know' about N.K. leader's health

All News 08:19 April 22, 2020

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with Trump's remarks, details, background)
By Lee Haye-ah

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday he doesn't know about the health condition of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un amid reports he may be seriously ill.

"These are reports that came out, and we don't know. We don't know," Trump said at a White House coronavirus press briefing. "I can only say this: I wish him well. Because if he is in the kind of condition that the reports say, that the news say, that's a very serious condition."

Trump said he doesn't place "too much credence" in any report put out by CNN. Citing an unidentified U.S. official, CNN first reported that the U.S. is looking into intelligence that Kim is in "grave danger" after a surgery.

"They came out with very, very serious medical reports. Nobody's confirmed that," he said.

Asked about possible successors to Kim in the dynastic regime, Trump declined to weigh in.

"I don't want to ask him that. I haven't asked him that. It's not my purpose to tell you that in all fairness, but I hope he does well," he said, adding he has had a "very good relationship" with Kim.

The CNN report came after the Daily NK, a South Korean internet news outlet specializing in North Korea news, said Kim has been receiving medical treatment following a cardiovascular procedure.

South Korean officials dismissed reports about Kim's health problems, saying no unusual signs have been detected in the North that suggest something's wrong with his health.

Speculation has arisen about what happened to Kim since he apparently skipped an annual visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on the occasion of the 108th birthday of his late grandfather and state founder Kim Il-sung last Wednesday.

Kim was last seen April 11 in state media reports presiding over a political bureau meeting of the ruling Workers' Party, calling for "strict national countermeasures to thoroughly check the infiltration of the virus."