Kim Jong-un is in coma claims South Korean diplomat
NEW DELHI : Adding a fresh lease of life to health rumours surrounding North Korean leader Kim Jon Un, a former aide to South Korea’s late president Kim Dae-Jung, has said that Kim is in a coma and that’s why his sister Kim Yo-jong has been given powers.
According to Chang Song-min, the North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un is in a coma and his sister Kim Yo-jong has been made the de facto second in command with authority and responsibility delegated to her for managing relations with the US and South Korea.
In a social media post, Chang Song-min said that no North Korean leader would entrust any of his authority to another person unless he was too sick to rule or was removed through a coup. He reiterated his earlier claim that Kim Jong-un is bedridden and unable to rule.
In an interview with South Korean media, Chang Song-min said: “I assess him to be in a coma, but his life has not ended. “A complete succession structure has not been formed, so Kim Yo-jong is being brought to the fore as the vacuum cannot be maintained for a prolonged period.”
He went on to say that photos of Kim Jong Un that were released by the North Korean media in recent months were fake. As per Chang, the power restructuring does not make Kim Yo-jong the successor to Kim Jong Un.
South Korea’s spy agency informed the country’s political leaders that the North Korean leader seemed to have adopted delegating authority and responsibility to some of his most trusted aides. But according to the National Intelligence Agency, the change doesn’t appear to be linked to any major health problem, said The Korean Herald.
Fewer public appearances this year by Kim Jong Un fueled rumours of his death. According to some speculations, failed heart surgery of the North Korean leader has either left him bedridden or dead. But these rumours were laid to rest after he made an appearance at the opening of a fertiliser factory in Suchon near the North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang.
Reiterating his earlier claims, where he has said that Kim Jon Un is bedridden and unable to rule. Chang has claimed to have gotten the information from a source in China. He even went on to say that photos of Kim released by the North Korean media in recent months were fake.
Earlier, South Korea`s intelligence agency had claimed that Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is serving as his “de facto second-in-command” but has not necessarily been designated his successor, a South Korean lawmaker said on Thursday.
Ha Tae-keung, an opposition party lawmaker on parliament`s intelligence committee, told reporters that Kim was helping to run the regime with mandated authority from her brother.
“The bottom line is that Kim Jong-un still holds absolute power, but has turned over a bit more of his authority compared to the past,” Ha said, following a closed-door briefing by the South`s National Intelligence Service, Reuters reported on Thursday.
More authority on economic and military policy has also been delegated to several other senior officials, although at a lower level, possibly to reduce strain on Kim Jong-un as well as help him avoid blame for any failures, Ha said.
