Free Republic

President Donald Trump responded to reports about North Korean despot Kim Jong Un, reposting state media photos that purport to show Kim attending a ceremony at a fertilizer factory. “I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!” Trump wrote on Twitter. Kim’s attendance at the ribbon-cutting ceremony was the first public appearance he’s made in about three weeks, and it comes amid speculation about his health. Several news outlets in Asia had reported that Kim, 36, was brain dead or had died, although South Korean officials said he was alive and still in control of the...

South Korea has said that Kim Jong-un, is “alive and well”, downplaying rumours that that the North Korean leader was seriously ill after undergoing heart surgery. “Our government position is firm,” Moon Chung-in, a special adviser on national security to the South Korean president, Moon Jae-in, said in an interview with CNN on Sunday. “Kim Jong-un is alive and well.” The adviser said that Kim had been staying in Wonsan – a resort town on the country’s east coast – since 13 April, adding: “No suspicious movements have so far been detected.”

The signature train belonging to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been spotted on satellite images parked at a station on the nation's eastern coast since last week, according to a U.S. monitor, as questions swirl over the dictator's health. Since Kim missed an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, unverified reports have emerged about his health. On Sunday, a key aide to the president of South Korea insisted Kim, who is believed to be 36, was "alive and well." "Our government position is firm," Chung-in Moon, foreign policy...

A train probably belonging to Kim Jong Un has been parked at the Leadership Railway Station servicing his Wonsan compound since at least April 21, according to commercial satellite imagery. The train’s presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country’s eastern coast. The approximately 250-meter long train, although partially covered by the station’s roof, can be seen at a railway station reserved for use by the Kim family. It was not present on...

A US surveillance aircraft has flown over South Korea, an aviation tracker said Wednesday, on an apparent mission to monitor North Korea just days after the communist nation fired what are believed to be two short-range ballistic missiles. The US Navy's EP-3E was spotted in skies above South Korea on Tuesday, Aircraft Spots tweeted. The operation came two days after North Korea fired two projectiles from the eastern coastal city of Wonsan toward the East Sea, marking the fourth major weapons test the North has conducted this year. The United States flew the same type of plane over the peninsula...

Original in Japanese: 北朝鮮の飛翔体、弾道ミサイルか　国連制裁違反の可能性 ("North Korean Launch, Could Possibly Be Ballistic Missile, and Possible UN Violation") Two paragraph synopsis from the original Japanese--my translation (breaking): "Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the launch of projectiles yesterday from the east coast of North Korea into the Sea of Japan. Now based on photo analysis of the launch from images provided by official North Korean news sources, South Korean military specialists have analyzed the vehicle, and a viewpoint is emerging the launch yesterday was, in fact, likely a violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions against North Korea launching such ballistic missiles." "...

Basically leading with short dispatches saying the North Koreans did this at around 0906 am local Saturday (8:06 pm eastern USA) in Korea/Japan, about 90 minutes ago, into the Sea of Japan, traveling 70 to 200 kilometers from a launch site near Wonsan on DPRK east coast. (Report in Japanese—because fast breaking) Conservative Sankei Shimbun news, Tokyo

North Korea to build underwater hotel in East Coast city of Wonsan North Korea announces major plan to renovate Wonsan beach area North Korean authorities have announced an expansive development project for the east coast city of Wonsan that will include the construction of an underwater hotel, a Pyongyang Times article said last Tuesday. The ambitious plan, which focuses on the construction and development of infrastructure and buildings primarily related to the leisure sector, will see Wonsan become a “tourist city,” the Pyongyang Times said.