UK following reports that Kim Jong Un is dead 'very closely', Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab confirms

Ellena Cruse26 April 2020

The Foreign Secretary has confirmed the Government is following reports of Kim Jong Un's death "very closely".

Dominic Raab said accounts of the North Korean leader's demise are currently "uncorroborated" but his office is following updates.

Mr Raab, who is currently standing in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he recovers from coronavirus, said he had viewed international media reports but they have not been verified.

The statement comes as US senator Lindsey Graham said he would be shocked if Kim was not dead or incapacitated, Fox News reported.

Kim Jong Un is 'alive and well' say South Korean officials
POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Asked about the reports on Sky News' Sophy Ridge, Mr Raab said: "No, the reports are uncorroborated.

"I have seen the international media reports but we don't have any verified state of play on that yet.

"But obviously we are following it very closely, those reports."

Mr Raab confirmed the Government is closely following updates about the leader's death 
Sky News

On Saturday evening Senator Graham, who is a member of the US Foreign Relations Committee, said although he has no direct information about Kim's health, his lack of public appearances is telling.

"It's a closed society. I haven't heard anything directly, but I'll be shocked if he's not dead or in some incapacitated state because you don't let rumors like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society," he told Jeanine Pirro on Fox News.

"So I pretty well believe he is dead or incapacitated. And I hope the long-suffering North Korean people will get some relief if he is dead," he said.

Kim Jong Un waving before boarding his train at Vietnam's Dong Dang railway station in 2019 (Vietnam News Agency/AFP via Gett)
Vietnam News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

"President Trump is willing to do business with North Korea in a win-win fashion. So if this guy is dead, I hope the guy who takes over will work with President Trump to make North Korea a better place for everybody."

Claims about Kim's health have been bandied about in recent days, with satellite footage showing his train parked at his compound in Wonsan.

The North Korean Government has not said anything to counter media reports that the leader is unwell, prompting concerns about who is next in line to run a nuclear-armed country that has been ruled by the same family for seven decades.

Kim missed the celebration of his late grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung on April 15, the country’s most important holiday.

At his last public appearance on April 11, he presided over a political bureau meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, discussing preventive measures against the coronavirus and electing his sister as an alternate member of the bureau.

It is not the first time a member of the Kim family has avoided the spotlight and South Korea previously denied claims the leader is in poor health.

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