PYONGYANG, North Korea, May 19 (UPI) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited a hospital in Pyongyang six days after the collapse of a residential building that could have left hundreds dead, reported the state news agency Monday.
Kim, his wife Ri Sol-ju, and two high-level government officials toured Taesongsan General Hospital where the leader was seen in state-released photos playing and laughing with sick children and visiting patients.
"He [Kim] was pleased to visit the hospital, expressing his expectation and conviction that the officials, surgeons and nurses of the hospital would achieve bigger successes in treatment, management and operation of the hospital," said the news agency report.
The secretive country reported the collapse of the building Sunday in a rare moment of openness about the occurrences in the capital city. Hundreds are expected to be injured or dead from the incident, which North Korean officials reportedly blamed on poor construction and bad building supervision.The officials also offered a public apology to the North Korean people over the incident. Kim reportedly "sat up all night, feeling painful" after hearing of the incident.
It is not immediately clear whether any of the patients at the hospital were survivors of the apartment collapse.
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