North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un's absence from key national events over the last few days could be linked to his concerns over the coronavirus.
That's according to South Korea's minister for North Korean affairs, who clarified that it does not imply he is unwell.
Minister Kim Yeon-chul confirmed they have not detected any unusual movements in North Korea.
"It is true that he had never missed the anniversary for Kim Il Sung’s birthday since he took power, but many anniversary events including celebrations and a banquet had been cancelled because of coronavirus concerns," he said at a parliamentary hearing.
"I don’t think that’s particularly unusual given the current (coronavirus) situation."
Even though North Korea has said it has no confirmed cases of the coronavirus, officials in Seoul believe Kim must be trying to avoid exposure to COVID-19.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said he has a good idea how Kim is doing, without elaborating.
Speculation around Kim's health surfaced after he skipped several key events since mid-April.
Russia's second city of St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region came under a large Ukrainian drone attack overnight on Saturday, with a local port and oil infrastructure struck, Russian and Ukrainian authorities said.
US President Donald Trump called on Americans to protect the freedoms the nation's founders envisioned 250 years ago against what he has portrayed as the "communist" threat posed by progressive Democrats, speaking on the eve of Independence Day at Mount Rushmore.
Ukraine still controls the strategically important eastern city of Kostiantynivka, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the General Staff said on Saturday, rejecting Russian claims that it has been captured.
After weeks of protests, fraud accusations and review of contested ballots in a razor-thin race, conservative Keiko Fujimori was officially declared the winner of Peru's presidential race by the country's electoral office on Friday.
Rescuers cleared the rubble in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Friday in a search for survivors, as flags were lowered to half mast to mark a day of mourning, a day after a Russian missile and drone attack killed at least 30 people.
A Ukrainian woman is the main suspect in a bomb attack that targeted a wealthy businessman in Monaco, officials said on Friday, adding that the suspect had fled to Germany and had likely not acted alone.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced on Thursday the launch of clinical trials for two potential treatments for the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the first patient enrolled in the study.
India has issued notices to messaging platforms Telegram and Signal asking them to explain safeguards around features that allow users to post messages without revealing their phone numbers, a government source said.
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