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Location: Zoom
Date: Wednesday 29th April
Role: Author & Pyongyang Watcher

On the 15th of April, North Korea celebrate their most important annual holiday, the Day of the Sun, to honour the founder, eternal President of North Korea, Kim Il-Sung. 

This year, when the current leader of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Kim Jong-un did not attend the celebration of his grandfather, speculation around his whereabouts and welfare began to circulate.

Many media outlets reported that Kim Jong-un had died or is in a vegetive state following a botched operation. In contrast, others have claimed he is just in hiding out of fear of the current coronavirus pandemic.

Getting reliable information out of North Korea is always incredibly difficult, and when it comes to the supreme leader, it is close to impossible.

It is unlikely that outside of North Korea, we will know what has happened to Kim Jong-un until he either makes a public appearance or there is an official statement released by North Korean officials.

In this interview, I am joined by Paul French author of North Korea: A State of Paranoia and an expert on the region. We discuss the history of North Korea and the Kim dynasty, the whereabouts of Kim Jong-un and what to expect next.

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Coming soon…

Connect with Paul:

• Twitter

• North Korea: State of Paranoia

More on the story:

• BBC: Kim Jong-un illness rumours denied amid intense speculation

• The Guardian: Kim Jong-un could be sheltering from Covid-19 pandemic, say US and Seoul

• Bloomberg: South Korean Ministers Say They Know Kim Jong Un’s Location

• Independent: The most likely explanations for Kim Jong-un's disappearance 

• The Times: Spy satellite images hint that Kim Jong-un is on holiday 

• Sky News: Satellite images of luxury boats 'suggest Kim Jong Un is in North Korean coastal resort'

Mentioned in the show:

• Wikipedia: Kim Il-sung  

• Wikipedia: Kim Jong-il

• Wikipedia: Kim Jong-un 

• New York Times: Where Is Kim Jong-un? How Experts Track North Korea’s Leader

• Independent: Inside London’s community of North Korean defectors

• History: Bill Clinton Once Struck a Nuclear Deal With North Korea

• Wikipedia: Kim Jong-nam

• The Guardian: How North Korea got away with the assassination of Kim Jong-nam

• The Telegraph: Did Kim Jong-un kill his uncle and brother over 'coup plot involving China'? 

• Wikipedia: List of officials purged and executed by Kim Jong-un 

• The Guardian: Kim Jong-un's uncle Jang Song-thaek executed, say North Korean state media

• Reuters: The North Korean history behind Kim Jong Un's mountain horse ride

• History: Korean War - Causes, Timeline & Veterans

• History: North Korea's Devastating Famine

• Cambridge: Chronic Food Shortages and the Collective Farm System in North Korea | Journal of East Asian Studies 

• Wikipedia: Josip Broz Tito

• Wikipedia: Bombing of North Korea

• Wikipedia: Joseph Stalin

• Wikipedia: Mao Zedong

• History: Cuban Missile Crisis - Causes, Timeline & Significance

• BBC: Ten things you should know about North Korea

• BBC: The London hairdresser who offended Kim Jong-un

• BBC: North Korea's human rights: What's not being talked about

• Wikipedia: Collective punishment

• Business Insider: North Korean defector shot 5 times in epic escape says it's a 'miracle' he's alive

• Independent: ‘We were forced to throw rocks at a man being hanged’: Prisoner exposes life inside notorious North Korea forced labour camp

• BBC: The North Korean spy who blew up a plane

• Washington Post: North Korean Leader's Son Blamed for Rangoon Bombing

• Financial Times: Kim Jong Un’s cyber army raises cash for North Korea

• The Guardian: China to enforce UN sanctions against North Korea

• CNN: Rumors surrounding Kim Jong Un not 'based on the facts' says former North Korean diplomat

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