A North Korean fortuneteller who predicted North Korea leader Kim Jong-il would be likely to die this year has been missing, a major local daily said Saturday.
Chosun Ilbo newspaper, citing “Open Radio for North Korea,” said Saturday that a Pyongyang-based fortuneteller who predicted “Kim would either die or be near his death on May 16 this year” has been missing for three weeks since making the prediction.
The report said the fortuneteller was “famous among Pyongyang’s upper class residents,” especially among middle-aged women, usually the wives of senior cadres.
It didn’t provide any personal details, including gender, about the fortuneteller.
A North Korea source who told the news to the South Korean radio broadcaster reportedly also said the fortuneteller’s disappearance had to do with the prediction.
In North Korea where Kim is deified, predicting the death of the leader is considered a serious crime.
The fortuneteller initially gained fame when he or she made a prediction of the imminent death of the late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung in 1994, two months before his prediction would materialize.
Apparently, the fortuneteller got away with his crime of committing “blasphemy” at that time.
Another North Korean source, who was also unidentified, said Kim Joing-il is suffering from a combination of complications since he suffered a stroke in 2008, including chronic laryngitis. Kim also reportedly requires daily dialysis due to malfunction of the kidney, it said.
