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North Korean Leader Was Sidelined by Foot Surgery, South Says North Korean Diplomats Extend Offer for Visit, U.N. Official Says
(about 10 hours later)
SEOUL, South Korea — The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whose prolonged absence from public view aroused rumors that he was ill or deposed, or both, was recovering from surgery on his left foot, South Korea’s intelligence agency told lawmakers on Tuesday. A special United Nations human rights investigator said Tuesday that diplomats from North Korea, in what he described as an abrupt and “interesting turn of events,” were now prepared to invite him to visit their isolated nuclear-armed country for the first time — but only if a growing effort aimed at prosecuting North Korea’s leader and other officials for crimes against humanity was dropped.
The investigator, Marzuki Darusman, made the disclosure at a news conference after he presented his annual report to the General Assembly’s human rights commission. Mr. Darusman, a member of a panel that produced a devastating report on human rights abuses in North Korea early this year, said the offer for a visit, which would be unprecedented, had been made by four North Korean diplomats who had unexpectedly agreed to meet with him on Monday.
North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to requests for comment on Mr. Darusman’s assertions. North Korean diplomats have denounced the panel’s report as a collection of fabrications and smears and have refused to meet with Mr. Darusman or any other panel member. The report said the North Korean authorities maintained a murderous police state and a system of gulag-like prison camps that incarcerated more than 100,000 people. It recommended that the Security Council refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court for prosecution.
In recent weeks, however, North Korea’s reclusive government, possibly sensing that a General Assembly resolution urging such a referral would probably pass by a strong majority, has adopted counterstrategies to avoid an acute embarrassment. They include the government’s own human rights report, released last month, which asserted improbably that North Korean citizens enjoy unparalleled freedoms. The North has also shown more eagerness to engage with South Korea and Japan, and last week it unexpectedly released one of three imprisoned Americans.
Mr. Darusman, whose annual requests for meetings with North Korean officials have been routinely ignored, said he was surprised the request had been granted. “There has been an interesting turn of events,” he said. “There was discussion about a possible visit, there was a discussion about certain parts of the resolution, so you will be able to make your own conclusions as to how they relate to each other.”
Asked to elaborate, he said the North Koreans had requested that two provisions of the General Assembly resolution, which was drafted by Japan and the European Union, be deleted: a recommendation that the International Criminal Court prosecute abuses, and a warning that North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, could be held personally accountable for crimes.
Efforts to reach Japanese diplomats for comment were not successful. A spokesman for the European Union, while not ruling out any proposals made by North Korea, said the objective of the resolution was “to bring change to the human rights situation in the country, by which we mean real improvements on the ground.”
Human rights advocates who have strongly endorsed the recommendations of Mr. Darusman’s panel expressed wariness about the conditional North Korean invitation to him, suggesting it was a tactical stalling move. They urged the General Assembly to vote on the resolution, which could happen next month.
“It would be a terrible geopolitical bargain to trade away a major and historic U.N. resolution in exchange for a single visit by a U.N. rapporteur,” said John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “It is the diplomatic equivalent to giving away a valuable house in exchange for a sandwich.”
The developments came against a backdrop of resilient political intrigue over Mr. Kim, whose prolonged absence from public view had aroused rumors that he was ill or had been deposed, or both.
On Tuesday, South Korea’s intelligence officials told lawmakers in Seoul that they had partly solved the mystery of his whereabouts, having learned that Mr. Kim was recovering from surgery on his left foot.
North Korea’s state news media did not report any public appearances by Mr. Kim for almost six weeks until Oct. 14, when he was shown visiting a housing project in Pyongyang, walking with a cane. The North Korean accounts have not explained the reason for his absence.North Korea’s state news media did not report any public appearances by Mr. Kim for almost six weeks until Oct. 14, when he was shown visiting a housing project in Pyongyang, walking with a cane. The North Korean accounts have not explained the reason for his absence.
The South Korean information about Mr. Kim’s foot was disclosed during a closed parliamentary audit of the National Intelligence Service, the South Korean spy agency.The South Korean information about Mr. Kim’s foot was disclosed during a closed parliamentary audit of the National Intelligence Service, the South Korean spy agency.
Its representatives told lawmakers that Mr. Kim, who has appeared to be gaining weight, had undergone surgery for tarsal tunnel syndrome, a painful foot condition caused by the compression of a nerve, according to two lawmakers who briefed reporters on what they were told. One suggested that Mr. Kim’s weight might re-aggravate the problem. Its representatives told lawmakers that Mr. Kim, who has appeared to be gaining weight and now resembles his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, the deified founder of North Korea, had undergone surgery for tarsal tunnel syndrome, a painful foot condition caused by the compression of a nerve, according to two lawmakers who briefed reporters on what they had been told. One suggested that Mr. Kim’s weight might aggravate the problem.
The intelligence agency did not disclose how it had obtained the information, but added that a European expert had operated on Mr. Kim, the lawmakers said. The intelligence agency did not disclose how it had obtained the information, but it added that a European expert had operated on Mr. Kim, the lawmakers said.
North Korea has maintained a long relationship with a small group of French doctors who have treated visiting members of the top North Korean elite or have been flown to the capital, Pyongyang, to treat them, including Mr. Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, who died in 2011 after having a stroke.
The National Intelligence Service declined to confirm details of the briefing given by the two lawmakers, Lee Cheol-woo, who is affiliated with the governing Saenuri Party, and Shin Kyong-min, of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy.
Mr. Lee and Mr. Shin were designated by the National Assembly’s intelligence committee to brief journalists on some of its closed meetings.
“Given his obesity and excessive activities, the trouble could recur despite the surgery,” said Mr. Lee, referring to the North Korean leader’s frequent visits to construction sites, factories and military units.
The lawmakers also quoted intelligence officials as saying that political purges were continuing in the North as Mr. Kim asserted his leadership. Recently, 10 party officials were executed by firing squad on charges of corruption, watching South Korean soap operas and other offenses, they said. North Korea also recently demoted senior military officers after a poor performance in an artillery target exercise.
Mr. Kim had his uncle, Jang Song-thaek, executed on a treason charge late last year.