<p>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is "alive and well", a top security adviser to the South's President Moon Jae-in said, downplaying rumours over Kim's health following his absence from a key anniversary.</p>.<p>"Our government position is firm," said Moon's special adviser on national security Moon Chung-in, in an interview with CNN on Sunday. "Kim Jong Un is alive and well."</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-live-updates-all-doctors-and-hospitals-to-light-a-candle-at-9pm-on-april-22-as-protest-says-ima-827545.html"><b>Track live updates on coronavirus here</b></a></p>.<p>The adviser said that Kim had been staying in Wonsan -- a resort town in the country's east -- since April 13, adding: "No suspicious movements have so far been detected."</p>.<p>Conjecture about Kim's health has grown since his conspicuous absence from the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the North's founder -- the most important day in the country's political calendar.</p>.<p><b>Also Read: </b><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-state-wise-india-update-total-number-of-confirmed-cases-deaths-on-april-27-830345.html"><b>Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases</b></a></p>.<p>Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a Workers' Party politburo meeting on April 11, and the following day state media reported him inspecting fighter jets at an air defence unit.</p>.<p>His absence has unleashed a series of unconfirmed media reports over his condition, which officials in Seoul previously poured cold water on.</p>.<p>"We have nothing to confirm and no special movement has been detected inside North Korea as of now," the South's presidential office said in a statement last week.</p>.<p>Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, has reported Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure earlier this month.</p>.<p>Citing an unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim, who is in his mid-30s, had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue.</p>.<p>Soon afterwards, CNN reported that Washington was "monitoring intelligence" that Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery, quoting what it said was an anonymous US official.</p>.<p>US President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected reports that Kim was ailing but declined to state when he was last in touch with him.</p>.<p>On Monday, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported that Kim had sent a message of thanks to workers on the giant Wonsan Kalma coastal tourism project.</p>.<p>It was the latest in a series of reports in recent days of statements issued or actions taken in Kim's name, although none has carried any pictures of him.</p>.<p>Satellite images reviewed by 38North, a US-based think tank, showed a train probably belonging to Kim at a station in Wonsan last week.</p>.<p>It cautioned that the train's presence did not "indicate anything about his health" but did "lend weight" to reports he was staying on the country's eastern coast.</p>.<p>Reporting from inside the isolated North is notoriously difficult, especially on anything to do with its leadership, which is among its most closely guarded secrets.</p>.<p>Previous absences from the public eye on Kim's part have prompted speculation about his health.</p>.<p>In 2014 he dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South's spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.</p>
<p>North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is "alive and well", a top security adviser to the South's President Moon Jae-in said, downplaying rumours over Kim's health following his absence from a key anniversary.</p>.<p>"Our government position is firm," said Moon's special adviser on national security Moon Chung-in, in an interview with CNN on Sunday. "Kim Jong Un is alive and well."</p>.<p><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-live-updates-all-doctors-and-hospitals-to-light-a-candle-at-9pm-on-april-22-as-protest-says-ima-827545.html"><b>Track live updates on coronavirus here</b></a></p>.<p>The adviser said that Kim had been staying in Wonsan -- a resort town in the country's east -- since April 13, adding: "No suspicious movements have so far been detected."</p>.<p>Conjecture about Kim's health has grown since his conspicuous absence from the April 15 celebrations for the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the North's founder -- the most important day in the country's political calendar.</p>.<p><b>Also Read: </b><a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/coronavirus-state-wise-india-update-total-number-of-confirmed-cases-deaths-on-april-27-830345.html"><b>Coronavirus India update: State-wise total number of confirmed cases</b></a></p>.<p>Kim has not made a public appearance since presiding over a Workers' Party politburo meeting on April 11, and the following day state media reported him inspecting fighter jets at an air defence unit.</p>.<p>His absence has unleashed a series of unconfirmed media reports over his condition, which officials in Seoul previously poured cold water on.</p>.<p>"We have nothing to confirm and no special movement has been detected inside North Korea as of now," the South's presidential office said in a statement last week.</p>.<p>Daily NK, an online media outlet run mostly by North Korean defectors, has reported Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascular procedure earlier this month.</p>.<p>Citing an unidentified source inside the country, it said Kim, who is in his mid-30s, had needed urgent treatment due to heavy smoking, obesity and fatigue.</p>.<p>Soon afterwards, CNN reported that Washington was "monitoring intelligence" that Kim was in "grave danger" after undergoing surgery, quoting what it said was an anonymous US official.</p>.<p>US President Donald Trump on Thursday rejected reports that Kim was ailing but declined to state when he was last in touch with him.</p>.<p>On Monday, the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper reported that Kim had sent a message of thanks to workers on the giant Wonsan Kalma coastal tourism project.</p>.<p>It was the latest in a series of reports in recent days of statements issued or actions taken in Kim's name, although none has carried any pictures of him.</p>.<p>Satellite images reviewed by 38North, a US-based think tank, showed a train probably belonging to Kim at a station in Wonsan last week.</p>.<p>It cautioned that the train's presence did not "indicate anything about his health" but did "lend weight" to reports he was staying on the country's eastern coast.</p>.<p>Reporting from inside the isolated North is notoriously difficult, especially on anything to do with its leadership, which is among its most closely guarded secrets.</p>.<p>Previous absences from the public eye on Kim's part have prompted speculation about his health.</p>.<p>In 2014 he dropped out of sight for nearly six weeks before reappearing with a cane. Days later, the South's spy agency said he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.</p>