China sends team to advise North Korea on Kim Jong-un's health amid conflicting reports

China has dispatched ateam to North Korea including medical experts to advise on NorthKorean leader Kim Jong-un, according to three people familiarwith the situation.

The trip by the Chinese doctors and officials comes amidconflicting reports about the health of the North Korean leader.Reuters was unable to immediately determine what the trip by theChinese team signalled in terms of Kim's health.

A delegation led by a senior member of the Chinese CommunistParty's International Liaison Department left Beijing for NorthKorea on Thursday, two of the people said. The department is themain Chinese body dealing with neighbouring North Korea.

The sources declined to be identified given the sensitivityof the matter.

The Liaison Department could not be reached by Reuters forcommentby late Friday, and China's foreign ministry did notimmediately respond to a request for comment.

A special train possibly belonging to Kimwas spotted this week at a North Korean resort town, according to satellite images reviewed by a Washington-based North Korea monitoring project.

No unusual signs, says South Korea

Daily NK, a Seoul-based website, reported earlier this weekthat Kim was recovering after undergoing a cardiovascularprocedure on April 12. It cited one unnamed source in NorthKorea.

South Korean government officials and a Chinese officialwith the Liaison Department challenged subsequent reportssuggesting that Kim was in grave danger after surgery. SouthKorean officials said they had detected no signs of unusualactivity in North Korea.

On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump also downplayedearlier reports that Kim was gravely ill. "I think the reportwas incorrect," Trump told reporters, but he declined to say ifhe had been in touch with North Korean officials.

On Friday, a South Korean source told Reuters theirintelligence was that Kim was alive and would likely make anappearance soon. The person said he did not have any comment onKim's current condition or any Chinese involvement.

An official familiar with U.S. intelligence said that Kimwas known to have health problems but they had no reason toconclude he was seriously ill or unable eventually to reappearin public.

A U.S. State department spokeswoman had no comment. U.S.Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, when asked about Kim's healthon Fox News after Trump spoke said, "I don't have anything I canshare with you tonight, but the American people should knowwe're watching the situation very keenly."

Kim's health a matter of state security

North Korea is one of the world's most isolated andsecretive countries, and the health of its leaders is treated asa matter of state security. Reuters has not been able toindependently confirm any details on Kim's whereabouts orcondition.

North Korea's state media last reported on Kim's whereaboutswhen he presided over a meeting on April 11. State media did notreport that he was in attendance at an event to mark thebirthday of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung, on April 15, animportant anniversary in North Korea.

Kim, believed to be 36, has disappeared from coverage inNorth Korean state media before. In 2014, he vanished for morethan a month and North Korean state TV later showed him walkingwith a limp. Speculation about his health has been fanned by hisheavy smoking, apparent weight gain since taking power andfamily history of cardiovascular problems.

When Kim Jong-un's father,Kim Jong-il, suffered a stroke in2008, South Korean media reported at the time that Chinesedoctors were involved in his treatment along with Frenchphysicians.

Last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping made the first statevisit in 14 years by a Chinese leader to North Korea, an impoverished state that depends on Beijing for economic anddiplomatic support.

China is North Korea's chief ally and the economic lifelinefor a country hard-hit by U.N. sanctions, and has a keeninterest in the stability of the country with which it shares along, porous border.

Kim is a third-generation hereditary leader who came topower after his father Kim Jong-il died in 2011 from a heartattack. He has visited China four times since 2018.

Trump held unprecedented summits with Kim in 2018 and 2019as part of a bid to persuade him to give up North Korea'snuclear arsenal.