South Korea investigating reports Kim Jong Un is in 'grave danger' following surgery

Kim Jong Un.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

U.S. intelligence agencies have received information that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in "grave danger" following surgery, a U.S. official with knowledge of the matter told CNN on Monday night.

He was last spotted on April 11 at a government meeting, and was absent at a birthday celebration on April 15 for his late grandfather, state founder Kim Il Sung. Rumors swirled in 2014, when Kim Jong Un was briefly out of the public eye. Upon his return, he was seen using a cane, and South Korea intelligence determined that he had a cyst taken off his ankle, CNN reports.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.