North Korea Rumors: Is Kim Jong Un Alive? State-Run Media Offers 'Proof' While Leader Still Out Of Sight

After several days of conspicuous silence, North Korea's state-run media has addressed the rampant rumors about leader Kim Jong Un’s death.

On Monday, news outlet the Rodong Sinmun presented a letter purportedly written by Kim as proof that the leader is still alive. The thank-you letter was written for builders working on a tourism project in the city of Wonsan, a coastal area where the leader has rumored to have stayed recently.

South Korean officials believe Kim has been staying in Wonsan since April 13, two days after he was last seen publicly at a government meeting. North Korea monitoring project, 38 North, recently claimed to have spotted a train owned by the Kim family in the area.

“Respected Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has sent his thanks to the workers and officials at the construction site of the Wonsan-Kalma tourist resort,” the North Korean Central Broadcasting Station reported, echoing stories from other outlets in the highly secretive nation.

Despite these attempts to squash rumors of the leader’s demise, Kim has still not been seen in public.

Recent speculation has suggested that the leader underwent a botched heart operation that either killed him or left him in a vegetative state. South Korean officials have downplayed this, however, stating that according to their information, Kim is “alive and well” and that nothing out of the ordinary is occurring in the North.

Alongside the thank-you letter, North Korean news outlets have also released a letter it claims was sent from Kim to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, dated April 27.

Most U.S. officials have not addressed speculation about Kim's status.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said on Saturday that he would be "shocked if he’s not dead or in some incapacitated state because you don’t let rumors like this go forever or go unanswered in a closed society which is really a cult, not a country, called North Korea."