Trump celebrates Kim Jong Un’s apparent return to public eye after his rumored bout with ill health

President Donald Trump has celebrated the apparent return of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to the public eye, stating he is glad to see him back in good health after rumors he had died.

The president retweeted pictures on Saturday of the dictator allegedly cutting the ribbon Friday at the Sunchon Phosphatic Fertilizer Factory.

He wrote, ‘I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!’

Trump had initially refused to comment Friday after reports said the despot had made his first public appearance in 20 days following rumors he was suffering ill health or was in a vegetative state.

It is unclear whether the White House has authenticated the pictures released by North Korean state media. 

President Trump retweeted this picture of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Saturday saying he was glad to see him back and in good health.  The images were shared by a Korean state agency who said that they were taken at a public appearance from the leader on Friday. It would have been his first appearance in 20 days after rumors that he was in ill health

President Donald Trump celebrated the claims from North Korea that leader Kim Jong Un had returned to the public eye after 20 days. Trump has a warm relationship with the dictator

President Donald Trump celebrated the claims from North Korea that leader Kim Jong Un had returned to the public eye after 20 days. Trump has a warm relationship with the dictator

Trump said he was 'glad to see he is back' as he retweeted the unauthenticated pictures

Trump said he was ‘glad to see he is back’ as he retweeted the unauthenticated pictures 

State media reported Kim cut the ribbon at the opening of a fertilizer factory on Friday – the first time it has mentioned him making a public appearance since speculation about his health began last month.

Kim ‘attended the ceremony’ on Friday and ‘all the participants broke into thunderous cheers of ‘hurrah!” when he appeared, the Korean Central News Agency said.

The North Korean leader hasn’t been seen in public in nearly three weeks.

Speculation concerning Kim’s health began to gain momentum after he failed to turn up at the celebration of his grandfather’s birthday on April 13, one of the country’s biggest calendar events.

It marks the first time he has ever missed the celebration. 

There has been much speculation as to what happened, including that he had complications after heart surgery or was suffering from the coronavirus.

North Korea is a difficult country for intelligence agencies to penetrate given its police state and near isolation from the rest of the world.

The despot (pictured with his younger sister Kim Yo Jong) cut the ribbon at the opening of a fertilizer factory in Sunchon, state media reported. They released pictures supposedly showing the event after rumors spread that the leader was in ill health and may have died

The despot (pictured with his younger sister Kim Yo Jong) cut the ribbon at the opening of a fertilizer factory in Sunchon, state media reported. They released pictures supposedly showing the event after rumors spread that the leader was in ill health and may have died

This picture from state media supposedly shows the mass celebrations as Kim opened the fertilizer factory in Sunchon on Friday. Trump has welcomed his apparent return

This picture from state media supposedly shows the mass celebrations as Kim opened the fertilizer factory in Sunchon on Friday. Trump has welcomed his apparent return

This image released by Korean Central News Agency supposedly shows Kim Jong-Un (center) attending the ceremony next to his sister (pictured third from left) and other senior officials on Friday. Trump commented on the reports of Kim Jong Un's return Saturday by retweeting the pictures and saying that he was glad to have him back in good health

This image released by Korean Central News Agency supposedly shows Kim Jong-Un (center) attending the ceremony next to his sister (pictured third from left) and other senior officials on Friday. Trump commented on the reports of Kim Jong Un’s return Saturday by retweeting the pictures and saying that he was glad to have him back in good health

Yet South Korea’s government has said Kim is alive and is handling state affairs normally at an unspecified site outside the capital. The country hasn’t cited its sources.

Trump has been cryptic in his comments when asked about how Kim is doing.

He was the first American president to meet with a North Korean leader and has a warm relationship with Kim, who he has met with twice.

The leaders have also exchanged letters and Trump, at point, said he ‘fell in love’ with Kim.

But now the dictator’s medical condition is unknown, raising questions about the stability of government in Pyongyang and the security of the country’s nuclear weapons.

Trump has remained coy about what he knows.

President Donald Trump shares a warm relationship with Kim Jong Un, who he has met with twice. He was the first American president to meet with a North Korean leader

President Donald Trump shares a warm relationship with Kim Jong Un, who he has met with twice. He was the first American president to meet with a North Korean leader

President Trump remained coy about about commenting on Kim Jong Un's apparent return on Friday despite the leaders having a warm relationship. They are pictured here in 2018

President Trump remained coy about about commenting on Kim Jong Un’s apparent return on Friday despite the leaders having a warm relationship. They are pictured here in 2018

‘I understand what is going on, I cannot just talk about him right now, just hoping that everything will be fine. But I do understand the situation very well,’ Trump said Thursday at the White House.

Kim Jong-Un’s last known movements 

April 11 – The dictator presides over a meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party committee of policymakers. His most recent public appearance

April 15 – Kim is absent from celebrations for North Korea’s founding father and Kim’s grandfather, Kim Il Sung

April 21 – First reports surface claiming the dictator has received heart surgery from South Korean-based publication Daily NK

April 23 – Kim’s private train is spotted near his holiday resort in Wonsan on satellite images. It is at a station reserved for use by the Kim family, prompting rumours that he has travelled to the destination

April 23 – Chinese doctors reportedly arrive in North Korea around this time to treat the dictator. China is yet to confirm or deny the reports

May 1 – Pictures emerge of the dictator apparently at a fertiliser factory in Sunchon with his sister

‘I can’t tell you exactly. Yes I do have a very good idea.

‘But I can’t talk about it. I just wish him well. I’ve had a very good relationship with Kim Jong-un.’

On Friday, he also refused to comment on the reports out of North Korea that Kim made a public appearance.

‘I’d rather not comment on it yet,’ the president said as he left to spend the weekend at Camp David.

‘We’ll have something to say about it at the appropriate time.’

And when asked if Kim was alive Trump said: ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

According to medical experts who viewed footage of the dictator’s apparent return on Friday, Kim Jong-un’s wrist suggests he could have had heart surgery. 

US-funded NK News reported that marks on Kim’s arms show he has had a ‘cardiovascular procedure’.

The dictator was seen smiling and talking to aides at the ceremony and also touring the plant, but the authenticity of the photos could not be verified.

He was accompanied by several senior North Korean officials including his younger sister Kim Yo Jong, Korean Central News Agency said.

What appeared to be needle marks could be seen on his wrists while he rode in a golf cart that looked a lot like the one he used in 2014, when he returned to the public eye with a cane after some time away.

Kim has not been seen with marks on his wrists before.

Following his absence from the celebration of his grandfather’s birthday on April 13, a South Korean news outlet specializing on the North reported Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure.

Medical experts have assessed video footage of the visit and claim marks on Kim's arms (pictured) show he has had a 'cardiovascular procedure', US-funded NK News reported

Medical experts have assessed video footage of the visit and claim marks on Kim’s arms (pictured) show he has had a ‘cardiovascular procedure’, US-funded NK News reported

A flurry of other unconfirmed reports about his condition and his whereabouts followed including from vice director of Hong Kong Satellite Television Shijian Xingzou, who claimed he was dead. Officials in South Korea and the US were skeptical. 

The former top US diplomat for East Asia Daniel Russel said the pieces of the puzzle of Kim’s disappearance would take time to assemble.

His reappearance showed authoritative information about the well-being and whereabouts of a North Korean leader were very closely guarded, and rumors about him needed to be regarded with considerable skepticism, Russel said.