Once again there is speculation around the world: Is North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un in a coma? His death would have drastic consequences for the isolated country - will Sister Kim Yo-Jong take over the scepter?
- There is again speculation that Kim Jong-uns's state of health is critical: apparently the ruler of North Korea is in a coma.
- In South Korea they fear a “dangerous power vacuum ” should Kim Jong-un die - it seems increasingly likely that his younger sister Kim Yo-jong will be the successor to state power .
- Now a state-owned North Korean news agency has published photos to stop speculation.
Update from August 26, 2:37 p.m .: After new speculations about the health of Kim Jong Un (see original message ) , the North Korean state media have again published official photos of the ruler. Kim led a crisis meeting of high-ranking party officials on the corona pandemic * and an approaching typhoon on Tuesday , the KCNA news agency reported on Wednesday. Kim mentioned "deficits" in virus prevention and called for more measures to be taken against such "deficiencies". According to the AFP news agency , Kim was seen in a white suit and smoking in photos from the Rodong Sinmun newspaper .
The new rumors about Kim's health were triggered by a report by the South Korean secret service : According to this, the ruler is said to have passed some responsibilities to his sister Kim Yo Jong in order to reduce his "government burden". A former advisor to ex-South Korean president Kim Dae Jung even claimed that North Korea's rulers were in a coma .
Isn't he healthy? A North Korean state news agency circulated photos of Kim Jong Un after speculation.
© - / KCNA / dpa
Kim Jong Un Health Rumors: He did not appear for weeks in the corona pandemic
As early as April , there had been wild speculation about Kim's health after the ruler had not appeared in public for weeks . After rumors of an alleged serious illness and an operation, he was apparently healthy again in official photos.
According to official information, there has not yet been a single corona case in North Korea * . At the end of July, the authorities reported a suspected case . The allegedly infected person was therefore a defector who had returned to North Korea from South Korea. The case was never officially confirmed, however, and a curfew imposed on the border town of Kaesong was lifted. The extremely isolated and authoritarian North Korea closed its borders at the end of January because of the corona virus . Observers suspect that the virus had already entered the country from neighboring China.
Kim Jong Un (center), ruler of North Korea, during a Politburo meeting of the Labor Party of Korea.
© - / KCNA / dpa
Kim Jong-un in a coma? Little sister is considered an unpredictable successor
Original message from August 24th: North Korea - North Korea's rulers appear to be in a coma - but this is not the first time that media around the world have reported this for the first time. As early as April there was wild speculation that 36-year-old Kim Jong-un * was in an artificial coma after an operation , having disappeared from the public image surface for a few weeks.
According to a senior South Korean diplomat, Chang Song Min , North Korea's rulers have been in a coma again for a few days. This is reported, among other things, by the news portal OE24.at, citing local media on site. The last pictures of Kim Jong-un were published four days ago on North Korean state television - they were allegedly taken on August 9, but they could also be older. This can never be achieved with absolute certainty , as more detailed information on the propaganda photos is often kept under lock and key.
Kim Yong-un: South Korea's diplomat calls a possible death of the ruler a "catastrophe"
After Kim Jong-un recovered very slowly from his operation in the spring , he is said to have already handed over parts of his responsibilities to his younger sister Kim Yo-jong . She has been an influential advisor to her brother for several years . However, the ruler has not yet been able to fully clarify his successor , according to Bild.de.
Kim Yo-jong would not automatically move to the top of the state at the moment - according to Chang Song Min, a collective leadership group would probably take power first . The South Korean diplomat is certain that Kim's death would "mean a catastrophe for the country" in any case, because his death would create a "dangerous power vacuum " that neither the younger sister nor a collective leadership group - currently - completely fill could.
Kim Yo Jong, the little sister of North Korea's ruler Kim Jong-un. (Archive image)
© Patrick Semansky / dpa / Pool AP
But it is noticeable that Kim Yo-jong's political influence is growing and that the North Korean media are reporting on her more and more frequently. In March, as a party official , she made her own political declaration for the first time . In it, she punished the South Korean government's criticism of the new North Korean missile tests furiously and radically. In June it announced harsh retaliatory actions against Seoul , and shortly afterwards North Korea blew up an empty inter-Korean liaison office on the border with South Korea . She received the powers from the ruler and the party , wrote the South Korean newspaper "Hankyoreh" according to information from the picture.
Kim Yo-jong , whose age can only be estimated at 32, is considered educated and ambitious - she is also known for being cool and tough. In the video , PULS 24 asks itself whether Kim Yo-jong is currently "the most dangerous woman in the world":
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List of rubric lists: © - / KCNA / dpa
