There is still 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 there is fear of 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 28, 3:43 p.m.: Apparently, pictures of North Korea's dictator Kim Jong-Un appeared again, as reported by Bild . On it you can see: The ruler of a corn field in the province of Hwanghae, where Typhoon Bavi is said to have raged. The pictures are from the North Korean government . However, this had already published old photos and described them as current. So they are not proof that the dictator is not in a coma.
Kim dead? It's cob-blers! North Korean dictator holds a cob of corn as he inspects typhoon damage https://t.co/M5PMgeWARi
- Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) August 28, 2020“In my opinion, the fact that Kim's sister Kim Yo-jong stayed away from two meetings, in committees to which she actually belongs and at a time when she was publicly given more power, is almost more remarkable than the coma story is “, quoted Bild the North Korea expert Christian Taaks from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation in Seoul.
North Korea: Kim Jong-un in a coma? After great concern, new images are now appearing
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":
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin is causing a stir. The Kremlin chief threatened an invasion of Belarus (cos) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
List of rubric lists: © - / KCNA / dpa