Kim Jong Un skips key meet for third time in a month; Is the North Korean leader unwell?

North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Un's alleged disappearance before the mass parade, scheduled to be held this week, has raised speculations about his health on Monday, reported Fox News. The mass parade that takes place at North Korea's capital Pyongyang might not be attended by the leader Kim Jong Un as he has not been seen in public for a month. Kim skipped a Polibuto meeting for third time on Sunday, as per the media reports.

This is Kim's second-longest absence from public since 2014, when he had disappeared for 40 days. He had taken shorter breaks in May 2021 and April 2020. According to NK News, the Politburo meeting was led by Jo Wong Won, who is the right-hand man of the North Korean leader.

North Korean leader disappeared again 

As the country is busy preparing for the mass parades that are to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, Whether Kim would make an appearance in the parade or not is to be seen. This North Korea's parades would be celebrating the 75th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army. However, the parade might be used by the supreme leader as a platform to showcase the latest hardware from N Korea's growing nuclear weapons and missile program which is also a growing concern for the US and its allies in Asia. 

Earlier in 2014, Kim had disappeared for almost six weeks before reappearing with a walking stick. After his disappearance, rumours about him going under surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle surfaced and were claimed by the South Korean spy agency. Whereas last year, rumours were sparked that he had fallen seriously ill after undergoing heart surgery. However, the more believable theory was that Kim had just isolated himself due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un was last seen in public in April 2022 during a massive civilian parade celebrating the birthday of the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung, reported The Guardian. In the parade, Kim was seen waving from a balcony overlooking the vast square in Pyongyang named after his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, while huge columns of people carrying red plastic flowers and floats with political slogans marched below, as per the North Korean media.