Kim Jong-un's poor health is due to the stress of 'being North Korea's strongman and excessive boozing', according to a new report.
The health of the overweight North Korean dictator has been the subject of much speculation in recent days.
Some sources in the communist country say that Kim has died while others report he is in a vegetative state following heart surgery.
Kim's whereabouts have been unclear since presiding over an April 11 meeting.
The dictator purportedly “had something wrong health-wise due to either excessive drinking or overwork,” a contributor for Seoul-based outlet Daily NK reported Friday.
Although it admits “we do not know exactly,” the report adds, “He may have retired to his villa in Wonsan to rest.”
Satellite images show a train parked at the "leadership station" in the coastal resort of Wonsan for more than a week - suggesting that Kim may be at his luxury compound - but North Korea watchers have cautioned that it could be a diversion tactic.
Kim, whose absence has raised concerns about instability in the nuclear-armed nation, had initially planned to take a “short reprise” at his villa prior to heading to Pyongyang for the “Day of the Sun,” but skipped the planned event because he wasn’t feeling well, according to the report.
The report comes one day after Taiwan’s chief of intelligence said that Kim is “sick,” prompting his nation to create emergency contingency plans for a possible power struggle if he dies.
Earlier today a North Korea defector who recently became a lawmaker in South Korea said he is "99 per cent" sure Kim is dead.
Ji Seong-ho believes Pyongyang may announce this weekend that the dictator has died and a successor - likely Kim's sister Kim Yo-jong - has been chosen.
Amid unverified claims that Kim was dead, in a vegetative state, "gravely" ill or recovering after undergoing heart surgery, the lawmaker said he was informed that Kim died last weekend after undergoing a cardiovascular operation.
North Korea has held off on confirming its leader's demise and announcing a period of mourning because it is "grappling with a complicated succession issue", he added.
