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Volume 85, Issue 30 Web Edition SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935
April 29, 2020
Kim Jong-un disappears
Some speculate North Korean leader is dead
By Aia Andonovska
Arts & Life Editor
Since April 15, many questions have been
swirling around about where in the world Kim
Jong-un could be. The notorious North Korean
leader’s last public appearance was on April
11, about two weeks ago. He has even missed
the country’s largest annual celebration, which
is the birthday of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung,
who has so graciously passed down his militarial
state through the generations. If Kim Jong-un is
indeed dead, then the power would change from
his hands to those of his sister, Kim Joy Young.
This is not the first time Kim Jong-un has
receded from the public eye, but for some reason
this time, the rumours about his whereabouts are
running rampant. One report in the American
Courtesy of Mikhail Svetlov
Kim Jong-Un
news media speculated he was in grave danger
after heart surgery, and presumably, dead.
Another source said that he might have been
injured during his beloved missile tests.
Spy satellitesin the past couple of days have
spotted a train that probably belongs to Mr.
Kim in Wonsan, an eastern coastal town where
Mr. Kim’s family has a seaside home. A South
Korean news report said this past Saturday that
the United States had detected preparations for a
missile test in Sondeok, farther up the east coast,
where North Korea has launched missiles in the
leader’s presence before.
This past Sunday, South Korean officials told
CNN that North Korea’s leader is very much
alive and doing just fine. “Our government
position is firm,” Moon Chung-in, South Korean
President Moon Jae-in’s top foreign policy
advisor, told CNN. “Kim Jong Un is alive and
well.” North Korean state newspaper Rodong
Sinmun also reported on this past Sunday that
Kim sent thanks to workers who helped remodel
the country’s city of Samjiyon, but CNN also
said it was unable to independently confirm this
report. Reuters reported this past Friday that an
unnamed South Korean source said intelligence
pointed to Kim being alive, and is more than
likely to make a public appearance soon.
It is not necessarily unusual that Kim Jong-un
has gone MIA these past few weeks, considering
that he and North Korean officials occasionally
disappear. For example, in 2014 Kim went four
days without being seen by anyone. When he
re-emerged, he did so with a limp and a cane
and North Korea’s state media reported that he
had an uncomfortable medical condition. Even
more recently, Kim wasn’t seen in public for
about three weeks in February.
It is thought that Kim might be a heavy smoker.
He also has gained a lot of weight since he
took power in 2011 following the death of his
father, Kim Jong II. It is also believed that North
Korea’s ruling family has a history of heart
problems. Reportedly, Kim Jong II and Kim II
Sung died from heart attacks, but it is looking
like Kim Jong-un might be around for a little
while longer.
Response to
feedback about the
Clarion's 'biased'
opinion section
By Zach Dickerson
Editor in Chief
Feedback question:
“Do you try to keep your political articles
non-biased? If so, please put more energy
into providing facts and data, rather than
opinions and emotions. Telling people which
candidate they should vote for, like that last
article about Biden is very inappropriate for
a campus newspaper. Let us read the facts,
then make our own decisions based on those.
Thank you. ”
Some background: this question we received
is specifically in reference to an article
published in the April 15 issue titled “With
Sanders out of the race, Democrats must
stick together.” In the article, it asks for
former Sanders supporters to stick with the
Democratic Party and vote for Biden in the
upcoming presidential election in November.
The first thing that I would like to point out is
how the person who asked this question stated
the writer of the article shouldn’t have put so
much energy into “opinions and emotions,”
but it is important to point out (and anyone
can see this) that the article in question is an
opinion article.
While opinion articles can, and at times
should, have “facts and data,” they are pretty
much supposed to mostly rely on “opinions
and emotions.” That’s what makes them
opinion articles and not news articles. It is very
important for one to not make this mistake.
Now, for the comment stating that this
type of article is “inappropriate for a campus
newspaper.” I want to say that I very much
disagree with this statement, as it is the
responsibility of all newspapers to cover even
political news.
See 'Response to feedback' on pg. 2