US President Donald Trump on Saturday that he was glad to see North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “back and well” following rumours the latter was gravely ill, the media reported on Sunday.
“I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well,” Trump wrote in a retweet on Saturday of what appeared to be a scholar’s tweet embedded with photos of Kim at a May 1 ceremony marking the completion of a fertilizer plant in Sunchon, north of Pyongyang.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has made his first public appearance since speculation about his health began last month, cutting the ribbon at the opening of a fertilizer factory.
Earlier this week, a top security adviser to the South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in said that Kim Jong Un is in a ‘vegetative state,’ he is “alive and well”.
On April 15, Pyongyang marked the birthday of its late founder, Kim’s grandfather Kim Il Sung, — by far the most important date in its annual political calendar. Kim was not seen in attendance, raising speculations about his health.
Last week, the North Korean leader was gravely ill following heart surgery.
On April 23, US President Trump rejected reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was ailing and criticized his frequent nemesis CNN for running the story.
Trump’s denial of the report came two days after he declined to comment, saying only that he wished Kim well.
Trump and Kim have met three times in a bid to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear weapons program in exchange for US concessions.
The negotiations have ground to a halt since their second summit in Vietnam in February 2019 due to differences.