The statement of Cao comes after reports emerged of China sending a unit of doctors to North Korea to monitor the health status of Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-un.
Social media was abuzz during the day after some netizens quoted The Hong Kong Satellite Television's purported reported that Kim was dead. Although there has been no confirmation from any news agency at this point.
Japanese magazine Shukan Gendai had reported that Kim collapsed during a visit to a rural area in April which necessiated a stent procedure following the incident. Shukan Gendai's Sources claimed the surgeon treating Kim was not used to dealing with obese patients and was too nervous during the operation, leading to delays leaving the North Koreain leader in a “vegetative state.”
On Monday the rumors swirled that the North Korean leader's health was deteriorating after undergoing heart surgery on April 12.
Kim Jong-un's last public appearance was on April 11, at a politburo meeting. These rumors were subsequently scothced by U.S. intelligence, who reported they had no reason to think that Kim had suffered any kind of serious illness.
Furthermore, at the same time, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency indicated a government official who said there was nothing unusual coming from North Korea that could suggest Kim was ill. South Korean government officials and a Chinese official with the liaison department challenged subsequent reports suggesting that Kim was in grave danger after surgery.
North Korea is one of the world’s most secluded and secretive countries, and the health of its leaders is treated as a matter of state security and nothing is reported by its media on such matters.
The state media of North Korea last reported on Kim’s whereabouts when he presided over a meeting on 11 April.
Moreover, the state media did not report that he was in participation at an event to mark the birthday of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, on 15 April, which is considered an important anniversary in North Korea.
Kim, supposed to be 36, has strangely disappeared from coverage in North Korean state media in the past as well. In 2014 he vanished for more than a month and North Korean state TV later showed him walking with a limp.
There was speculation about his health that turned more acute due to his heavy smoking, apparent weight gain since taking power and family history of cardiovascular problems.
Kim Jong-un is a third-generation hereditary leader who came to power after his father Kim Jong-il died in 2011 from a heart attack. He has visited China four times since 2018.