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Kim Jong Un's Absence and North Korea's Silence Keep Rumor Mill Churning

Choe Sang-Hun

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The New York Times•April 26, 2020

Kim Jong Un's Absence and North Korea's Silence Keep Rumor Mill Churning

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea is still sending letters and gifts to foreign leaders and domestic workers in the name of its leader, Kim Jong Un. Its news media brims, as usual, with panegyrical propaganda extolling Kim’s leadership. South Korea reiterates that it has detected “nothing unusual” in the North. President Donald Trump has called “incorrect” and “fake” a report that Kim was “in grave danger” after surgery.

All this has done little to stop the rumor mill churning about Kim’s health and the fate of the nuclear state — for the simple reason that North Korea has not reported a public appearance by its leader for two weeks. Nor has it responded to lurid claims about his health.

The lack of real information from the hermetic country is giving rise to rampant rumor mongering, leaving North Korean experts, foreign officials and intelligence agencies to parse through it all for signs of the truth.

Depending on the news outlet or social media post, Kim, believed to be 36, is recuperating after a minor health issue like a sprained ankle, or he is “in grave danger” after a heart surgery. Or he has become “brain dead” or is in a “vegetative state” after a heart-valve surgery gone wrong at the hands of a nervous North Korean surgeon or one of the doctors China dispatched to treat him. Or Kim is grounded with COVID-19. Where did he get it? From one of those Chinese doctors.

One rumor circulating in South Korean messaging apps claims that after French doctors could not wake Kim from his “coma,” Kim Pyong Il, a half brother of Kim’s late father, seized power with the help of pro-Chinese elites in Pyongyang, the North’s capital. It goes on to say that Kim’s powerful sister, Kim Yo Jong, has been detained while Beijing is secretly bargaining with Washington over the future of North Korea and its nuclear weapons.

Seoul has questioned the accuracy of the unconfirmed reports, while the South Korean news media appears to dismiss most of them as rumors spreading through Chinese social media and beyond. But they cannot be completely ignored, since North Korea is so secretive that the world’s most powerful intelligence agencies have been unable to penetrate Kim’s inner circles.

One America News Highlights White House Team’s Record As 2020 Season Begins

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 8:25 PM PT — Thursday, March 5, 2020

As the 2020 season begins, the mainstream media is, as usual, focused on President Trump’s tweets. Meanwhile, One America’s Jack Posobiec took a look at the record of the White House team.

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These People Mysteriously Vanished Without a Trace

By Jake Schroeder

Photo Courtesy: National Portrait Gallery/Smithsonian Institution

People who vanish come from all walks of life. While some are wealthy and famous, others lead ordinary lives. What's extraordinary is how each of the following people seemingly disappeared without a trace.

Family and friends left behind can only speculate as to their fate. Did they decide to leave on their own? Did they have accidents, or were they murdered? Read on to learn about some of the most intriguing missing persons cases.

Sean Flynn

Sean Flynn was the son of film legend Errol Flynn. Like his dad, Flynn appeared in a few swashbuckler films, but he wasn’t interested in acting. Rather than follow in his father’s footsteps, however, Flynn purchased a camera and set off to Southeast Asia to work as a war correspondent.

Photo Courtesy: Bettmann/Getty Images

On April 6, 1970, 28-year-old Flynn and journalist Dana Stone disappeared while traveling by motorcycle from Cambodia to Vietnam to attend a press conference. It’s believed the two reporters were taken by communist rebels. After his mother devoted 14 years to searching for her son, Flynn was declared dead in absentia in 1984.

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Vice President Pence Visits Wash. State To Discuss Anti-Coronavirus Efforts

Vice President Mike Pence bumps elbows with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, left, during a news conference, Thursday, March 5, 2020, at Camp Murray in Washington state. Pence was in Washington to discuss the state’s efforts to fight the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, and officials have been avoiding shaking hands to prevent the spread of germs. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 7:08 AM PT — Friday, March 6, 2020

Vice President Mike Pence flew to Washington to gauge the state’s response to the coronavirus. He met with state officials on Thursday and toured emergency response facilities. The vice president has been put in charge of the federal response to the outbreak by President Trump.

Washington has been the state hardest hit by the spread of coronavirus with a majority of U.S. deaths reported in the state. It has since declared a state of emergency; a measure that allows states to activate crisis measures and access special emergency funds.

Pence arrived on Air Force Two and landed in the city of Tacoma, where he was greeted by Gov. Jay Inslee (D). The two exchanged an elbow bump, forgoing a traditional handshake as a safety measure against transmission. The vice president also elbow-bumped the various officials and emergency workers he met during his trip.

During his tour of the state’s Emergency Management Operations Center, he praised the work of emergency service personnel and reiterated the nation’s support for the state.

“‘But the response of the state of Washington, of your Health Department, the response by the city of Seattle, Madame Mayor, has really inspired the country,” he stated. “And the president wanted me to be to be here today just to make it crystal clear that we’re with you, we’re here to help.”

Mike Pence

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Met the hard working men and woman of the State Emergency Management Operations Center in Washington. I reassured them that we are with them and that we will continue to make sure they have the full support of the federal government every step of the way.

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Pence and Inslee later discussed the availability of testing kits necessary to assess the extent of the virus’s spread. The vice president assured the governor that millions of testing kits, more than 5.2 million, would be rolled out to the state in the next week.

“To all of you who are standing with people in this state dealing with the virus and people in Washington state is we’re with you. “I’m here to ensure that the full resources of the federal government are being brought to bear in support of the state of Washington’s efforts,” said Pence.

The vice president echoed the advice of experts at the CDC who are asking people not to hoard masks and to leave them available to health workers. He emphasized the low risk the virus presents to most Americans.

“While the coronavirus has spread in the Seattle area and new cases are detected around the country every day, the good news is that the vast majority of all of those who have contracted the coronavirus are recovering and doing well,” stated the vice president. “The truth is that the risk of contracting the coronavirus to the average American remains low.’

The vice president went on to tout the bipartisan coronavirus response package passed by Congress and signed by President Trump this week, which allocated more than $8 billion to the efforts to fight the outbreak.

RELATED: South Korea suspends visas for Japanese in tit-for-tat coronavirus curbs

Facebook drops Trump ads after Pelosi cites census confusion

MIKE SCHNEIDER and AMANDA SEITZ

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Associated Press•March 5, 2020

 

 

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Facebook on Thursday began taking down ads for the reelection campaign of President Donald Trump that direct people to a survey labeled a “census,” hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said people would confuse it with the once-a-decade head count.

Facebook said in a statement that it was enforcing its policies to prevent confusion over the 2020 census, which begins next week for most people.

“There are policies in place to prevent confusion around the official U.S. Census and this is an example of those being enforced," the Facebook statement said.

Earlier in the day, Pelosi had called the survey sponsored by the Trump reelection campaign, “an absolute lie."

“A lie that is consistent with the misrepresentation policy of Facebook," Pelosi said. “But now they're messing with who we are as Americans. I know the profit motive is their business model, but it should not come at the cost of counting who is in our country."

The ad says, “President Trump needs you to take the Official 2020 Congressional District Census today." Clicking on a red button saying “Take the Survey” leads to a website with questions asking visitors about party affiliation, whether they intend to support Trump and which media organizations they get their information, among other questions.

Similar mailings have been distributed around the U.S.

On Thursday, four Democratic House members — Reps. Carolyn Maloney of New York, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Gerry Connolly of Virginia, and Katie Porter of California — demanded in a letter that the Republican National Committee stop any mailings or online ads that resemble Census Bureau documents.

In a statement, the Republican National Committee said it would add language to future mailings, making it clear what it is.

“This is a standard direct mail piece that has been utilized for decades. These mailers are fully compliant with the law, clearly marked as a fundraising solicitation from the Republican National Committee, and in no way resemble the official government census," the RNC statement said.

World

South Korea protests Japanese travel curbs as coronavirus ignites diplomatic row

By Hyonhee Shin

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Reuters•March 5, 2020

South Korean soldiers in protective gear sanitize a street at a shopping district in Seoul

By Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea issued a strongly worded protest on Friday against Japan's decision to quarantine South Korean visitors for two weeks, as coronavirus containment measures ignited a fresh diplomatic row between the Asian nations.

Japan joined the list of almost 100 countries that have imposed restrictions on South Korean travelers, barring arrivals from highly affected areas starting on Saturday and ordering a two-week quarantine for those from other regions.

The South Korean foreign ministry said Japan's ambassador would be summoned to explain Tokyo's decision and receive a formal complaint. Seoul has previously summoned ambassadors from Vietnam and Singapore over similar travel restrictions.

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"It is extremely regrettable Japan took this unreasonable and excessive step without sufficient prior consultation with us, and we strongly urge immediate reconsideration," it said.

After a meeting at the presidential Blue House, the National Security Council (NSC) issued a statement saying Tokyo faced "mistrust from the international community due to its opaque, passive" response to the coronavirus outbreak.

"We will explore necessary countermeasures based on principles of reciprocity," it said.

Japan's chief government spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, defended the travel restrictions which also apply to visitors from China.

"The decision was the result of a comprehensive review of the information available about the situation in other countries and the effects of other measures," he said.

"I think the timing is appropriate."

The row came as the number of new cases in South Korea, the country with the biggest outbreak of the flu-like virus outside China, fell to 196 from 760 the previous day, for a total of 6,284 infections. The death toll rose by seven to 42, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) said.

The U.S. Forces Korea reported a new case for a total of seven among soldiers, employees or people related to the roughly 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea.

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Coronavirus has spread to nearly all Iran provinces: president

By Babak Dehghanpisheh

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Reuters•March 4, 2020

 

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0:59

 

 

Iran says 92 dead as coronavirus reaches all but one province

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By Babak Dehghanpisheh

DUBAI (Reuters) - Coronavirus has spread to almost all of Iran's provinces but the country will get through the outbreak with a "minimum" number of deaths, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday.

"This disease is a widespread disease," he said during a Cabinet meeting, according to the official presidency website.

"It has reached almost all our provinces and in one sense it's a global disease."

The health ministry said on Tuesday that 92 people had died so far from coronavirus, one of the highest death tolls outside China where the epidemic originated late last year. It said 2,922 people had been infected with the disease.

Among those infected is first vice president Eshaq Jahangiri, the IranWire news site reported, citing an "informed source". There was no immediate confirmation from officials.

Several Iranian officials have come down with coronavirus and one senior official died from an infection on Monday.

The Islamic Republic has canceled Friday prayers in all provincial capitals this week because of the coronavirus outbreak, state television reported on Wednesday.

Rouhani said Iran would get through the outbreak with a minimum number of deaths and in the shortest period of time thanks to the skills of its doctors and nurses.

He took a jab at an American offer to help with the outbreak without mentioning the United States directly.

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States had offered to help Iran with the outbreak.

"They've appeared with a mask of sympathy that 'we also want to help the people of Iran'," Rouhani said. "If you are really telling the truth, then lift sanctions from medicine."

President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from a multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018 and reimposed sanctions which have hammered Iran's economy.

U.S. officials have said that the sanctions do not target medicine for Iran, a point Iranian officials dispute.