Trump says he’s ‘glad to see’ Kim Jong Un is ‘back’ and ‘well’

President Trump shared that he is “glad” to see North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is “back” and “well” on Saturday after Kim appeared in public for the first time in 20 days following international speculation over his health.

“I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well!” Trump tweeted, sharing photos of Kim cutting tape to mark the completion of a fertilizer plant in Sunchon, North Korea, an area north of Pyongyang.

I, for one, am glad to see he is back, and well! https://t.co/mIWVeRMnOJ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2020

Speculation surrounding Kim’s health mounted last month after he was absent from a ceremony marking the birthday of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, a significant holiday in the country.

When asked by reporters at the White House this week about Kim, Trump said he would “have something to say about it at the appropriate time.”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he added.  

Shortly after the president’s remarks, Kim was seen in photographs smiling and addressing aides at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The photographs, however, were not immediately independently verified, Reuters reported.

State media outlet Korean Central News Agency reported Friday that “all the participants broke into thunderous cheers of ‘hurrah!’ extending the greatest glory to the Supreme Leader,” according to a translation of its report by South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.

Kim’s six-week disappearance from the public eye in 2014 spurred similar rumors that he was unwell, had died or had been overthrown from office.