US Senator Lindsey Graham says he would be “shocked” if North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is not “dead or incapacitated.”
The South Carolina senator made the comment on Fox News amid rumors regarding Kim's health.
"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, which is really a cult, not a country, called North Korea," Graham said. "So I pretty well believe he is dead or incapacitated, and I hope that the long-suffering North Korean people will get some relief if he is dead.”
The rumors began after Kim allegedly missed the celebration of his late grandfather’s birthday, sparking speculation about his health.
The North Korean leader had a cardiovascular operation earlier this month and last appeared in public on April 11.
Graham further expressed hopes that the next leader in Pyongyang would work with US President Donald Trump to “make North Korea a better place for everyone.”
Myriad attempts to reach agreements between Trump and Kim have been unsuccessful.
Officials in South Korea, meanwhile, have denied the rumors, asserting that Kim is "alive and well.”
"Our government position is firm," Moon Chung-in, the top foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told CNN. "Kim Jong Un is alive and well. He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13. No suspicious movements have so far been detected."
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