North Korea’s latest barrage of missiles may look like another attempt to ratchet up hostilities in return for some sort of leverage at the bargaining table. But the launches over the past two weeks seem different.
Unlike previous provocations, his regime has mostly refrained from trumpeting the missiles along with the usual creative vitriol directed at the U.S. and its allies. Kim Jong Un himself has been out of the public eye for more than three weeks, his longest absence in a year. State media on Thursday released a photo of a floral arrangement given to Kim, but no pictures of him.
That could always indicate Kim is facing some health problems, or just taking a break. In August, his sister revealed that Kim was “seriously ill” after suffering from “high fever” during a COVID outbreak.
