Where is Kim?

last updated 8 January 2015

Pyongyang, North Korea

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il hasn’t been seen in public since July 4, the day his country angered the U.S. by test-firing seven missiles. Kim is known for going into hiding whenever tensions with the U.S. rise: He was incommunicado for 50 days in 2003, after North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and for 26 days after 9/11. This time, though, may be different. Kim didn’t even appear at his father’s shrine this summer, something he has done on the anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s death every year. Some speculate he may be hiding in a bunker, fearing U.S. retaliation for the missile launches. Others suspect he could be ill.