North Korea's Kim Jong Un Misses Athlete Ceremony In Pyongyang
International media outlets are continuing to question the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after he hasn't been seen in a month and recently skipped the Pyongyang Parade that welcomed home medal-toting athletes.
Although Kim Jong Un is a well-known sports fanatic, the leader was absent from the Monday parade that welcomed home North Korean athletes from the Asian Games. According to The Guardian, the country's athletes won 11 gold medals and 25 silver and bronze medals as a result of their recent Asian Games competition in South Korea.
According to the state-run KCNA media, the athletes were greeted at the Pyongyang airport by thousands of North Koreans and members of the Workers' Party and military, although the country's leader was not present. "The players received fervent welcome from hundreds of thousands of citizens in Pyongyang who lined the streets," the Korean Central News Agency said.
The KCNA added that the "streets turned into a sea of flowers."
The international media community has questioned why Kim Jong Un has remained out of the public spotlight for the past month, suggesting that perhaps the leader is suffering from a serious health ailment. The country's state-run media was very secretive back in 2011 when Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il, suffered from a heart attack and died on a train to the capital.
Last week, a new report emerged announcing that Kim Jong Un was recovering from surgery after he fractured both of his ankles while wearing men's heeled shoes, and due to his weight issue.
