SEOUL: North Korean state media on Wednesday showed leader Kim Jong Un at a meeting of a top committee issuing warnings about the coronavirus and a looming typhoon, following international speculation over his state of health. Pictures in the Rodong Sinmun newspaper showed Kim addressing the meeting, wearing a white suit and in one image apparently smoking a cigarette. Kim addressed “some shortcomings” in the preventive efforts and called for stronger measures to eliminate “defects,” KCNA said. Kim laid out tasks for various departments, saying thoroughly preventing casualties and crop damage was “crucial,” KCNA reported. Several analysts have played down suggestions that Kim’s health is deteriorating and Seoul’s intelligence agency has a mixed record with its past pronouncements on developments in the North.

Source: Manila Times August 26, 2020 05:48 UTC