Kim Jong Un's Health Mystery Solved?

South Korea's spy agency blames a cyst
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 28, 2014 6:21 AM CDT
Updated Oct 28, 2014 7:40 AM CDT
Kim Jong Un's Health Mystery Solved?
In this July 25, 2013, file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center, arrives at the cemeteries of fallen fighters of the Korean People's Army.   (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E, File)

South Korea's spy agency thinks it has solved one of 2014's great mysteries: why Kim Jong Un disappeared for six weeks. (He's not only back in view, he's inspecting kids' tea sets.) Two lawmakers tell Yonhap that the National Intelligence Service revealed that a cyst was the problem. The agency says it was removed from his right ankle sometime in September or October, and that a foreign doctor was brought in to facilitate the operation. NIS expressed that the cyst could recur due to Kim's weight and busy public schedule, reports the AP, which notes it's unclear how NIS sourced the info and points out its track record is "spotty."

Other NIS revelations during the closed-door briefing:

  • Fifty people have been put to death in 2014.
  • Ten party officials were booted over watching South Korean soaps.
  • Five of the country's prison camps have been made larger; NIS believes they currently contain 100,000 people.
(More Kim Jong Un stories.)

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