TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - South Korean spy agency claimed to have solved the mystery of the six-week public disappearance of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un. The agency confirmed that Kim was undergoing a surgery to remove a cyst on his ankle.
"A foreign doctor operated on Kim in September or October to remove a cyst from his left ankle," lawmaker Shin Kyung-min said. "The cyst could recur because of Kim's obesity, smoking and heavy public schedule."
Shin added that the spy agency identified Kim's condition as the tarsal tunnel syndrome, an often painful condition that is caused by the compression of a nerve, sometimes because of a cyst. Surgery is generally seen as a last resort, when other treatments are deemed unsuccessful.
Kim, having last seen in state media on September 3, reappeared on October 14 with a cane on his hand. Speculations have popped up during his absence, particularly the ones related to political coup.
RINDU P. HESTYA | THE TELEGRAPH