The North Korean capital Pyongyang is expected to hold massive military parades this week, but the country’s leader Kim Jong Un has not been seen in public for more than a month.
NK News, a South Korea-based outlet, reports that Kim skipped a Politburo meeting on Sunday, the third time he has done so.
FILE – In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a meeting of the Workers’ Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea, on February 28, 2022. (Korea Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
Kim’s previous extended disappearances have sparked speculation about his health. According to NK News, his longest break from public appearances was in 2014, when he was not seen for 40 days.
The parade, which will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People’s Army, is expected to take place on Tuesday or Wednesday. It remains to be seen if Kim will come out of hiding from him to make an appearance.
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Kim may use the event to showcase the latest hardware for his growing missile and nuclear weapons program that is raising concerns for the United States and its allies in Asia.
Last week, North Korea threatened to counter US military moves with the “most overwhelming nuclear force” and condemned US plans to expand its joint exercise with South Korea and deploy more advanced military assets such as bombers and aircraft carriers. in the region.
File photo, North Korean military parade. (Associated Press)
In this Sept. 19, 2018 file photo, Kim Yo Jong, right, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, helps Kim sign a joint statement following the summit with South Korean President Moon Jae. -in, at the Paekhwawon State Guest House in Pyongyang. (Pyongyang Press Corps Pool via AP)
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North Korea fired more than 70 ballistic missiles in 2022, including possible nuclear-capable weapons designed to strike targets in South Korea or reach the continental United States. It also carried out a series of launches that it described as simulated nuclear strikes against South Korean and US targets in response to expanded US military exercises with South Korea, which had been scaled back during the Trump administration.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
