Eye in sky spots train of missing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

Satellite images appear to show Kim Jong-un’s train has been parked at his compound on North Korea’s east coast.

A satellite image taken on Tuesday shows the North Korean leader’s train parked at his compound in Wonsan. Picture: Maxar Technologies via AP

Satellite images appear to show Kim Jong-un’s private train has been parked at his compound on North Korea’s east coast since last week, amid conflicting accounts about the health of the dictator since he vanished from public view two weeks ago.

The images released by the website 38 North on Sunday follow a report on Saturday that China had dispatched a team of senior doctors to treat Kim, believed to be aged 36 or 37.

The delegation was led by a senior official from the Chinese Communist Party international ­liaison department, which handles relations with its reclusive neighbour, according to Reuters, citing three sources familiar with the situation.

Other unconfirmed reports, attributed to senior party sources in Beijing, said Kim had died after the Chinese medical team arrived too late to save him following failed heart surgery.

In one version, an operation to insert a stent went wrong because a North Korean doctor’s hands were shaking so badly.

The satellite photos released on Sunday by 38 North, which specialises in North Korea studies, don’t say anything about Kim’s potential health problems, and they echo South Korean intelligence that Kim is staying outside of the capital, Pyongyang.

Seoul has also repeatedly indicated that there have been no unusual signs that could indicate health problems for Kim.

That hasn’t stopped growing unconfirmed rumours and media reports about Kim’s health that have emerged since he missed an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather and North Korea founder, Kim Il-sung. Kim Jong-un is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, and he hadn’t missed the April 15 event, one of the year’s most important for the North, since assuming power after his father Kim Jong-il’s death in late 2011.

Kim’s health is of crucial importance because of worries that the serious illness or death of a leader venerated with near godlike passion by millions of North Koreans could cause instability in the impoverished, nuclear-armed country. Kim is overweight and is said to smoke and drink heavily. His father and grandfather both died from heart problems.

There is no known successor if Kim dies. He is reported to have young children, but that detail, like his age, has never been officially confirmed.

His sister and chief propagandist, Kim Yo-jong, has emerged as his closest lieutenant. She is descended from the all-important family bloodline and is reportedly — again, unconfirmed — married to the son of a senior party veteran. But, as a young woman, there are doubts she would be acceptable as a leader to the ageing males who dominate the party and the army.

Kim’s train has been parked at the Leadership Railway Station servicing his Wonsan compound since at least April 21, 38 North said on Sunday, citing an analysis of recent satellite photos of the area. The website said the approximately 250m-long train wasn’t present on April 15 but was present on both April 21 and 23. “The train’s presence does not prove the whereabouts of the North Korean leader or indicate anything about his health, but it does lend weight to reports that Kim is staying at an elite area on the country’s eastern coast,” it said.

It’s not the first time that Kim has vanished from the public eye, and past absences in state media dispatches have also triggered speculation about his health.

A South Korean intelligence official told Reuters that Kim was alive and expected to make a public appearance soon, but the comments did not clarify whether he had been ill.

AP, THE SUNDAY TIMES