Mystery solved? South Korean spy agency says Kim Jong Un had ankle surgery

South Korea’s spy agency said Tuesday it has solved the mystery of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s public absence, which set off a frenzy of speculation around the world. The National Intelligence Service told legislators that a foreign doctor operated on Kim in September or October to remove a cyst from his right ankle, according to Park Byeong-seok, an aide for opposition lawmaker Shin Kyung-min.

His prolonged and unexplained absence fuelled rampant speculation about his health and even rumours of a coup in the nuclear-armed state.

AFP

The aide said the spy agency also told lawmakers in a closed-door briefing that the cyst could recur because of Kim’s obesity, smoking and heavy public schedule. He said the agency also believes that North Korea recently used a firing squad to execute several people who had been close to Kim Jong Un’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, who was considered the country’s No. power before his sudden purge and execution in December 2013.

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