“I estimate he’s in a coma, but he’s still alive,” Chang told South Korean media on Sunday, according to the British Daily Mail. He added that his younger sister should now take over his powers.
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“A sophisticated succession system has not yet been established, and so Kim Yo-chong comes to the fore because this vacuum cannot be maintained for too long,” said Chang, who is a former adviser to the late former president, Kim Te-jung.
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Speculation about Kim’s condition
The health of the North Korean leader, whose age is not officially known (36 years is said), has been speculated for a long time, given how rarely he appears in public this year. There were reports of a botched heart operation, after which Kim remained in critical condition or did not even survive.
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However, the media in the DPRK report that Kim took part in a government meeting on Thursday, from which they also bring photos. However, Reuters said the images could not be independently verified.
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The nurse has been promoted to reduce Kim’s stress
Referring to South Korean intelligence, US television FoxNews reported on Saturday that 33-year-old Kim Jo-chong had acquired greater powers and would be in charge of, among other things, the DPRK’s relations with the United States and South Korea. According to her, the dictator’s sister is now “the de facto second highest representative of the country”.
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Kim Jo-chong pictured on March 2
Photo: Jorge Silva, Reuters
“Kim Jong-un continues to maintain absolute power, but has handed over some tasks to his sister and several other advisers,” said the South Korean news agency NIS.
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The North Korean leader reportedly announced his decision in the North Korean parliament on Thursday, and deputies then informed the press about it.
The reason for this move, according to the NIS, is an effort to reduce the stress that Kim Jong-un faces as a ruler, as well as to prevent Kim from being blamed for political failures. Although Kim Jo-chong is now number two in the DPRK’s political hierarchy, Kim has not identified her as his eventual successor.
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The BBC reported that the information was not 100% reliable, and recalled that South Korean intelligence had been wrong in some past about the DPRK. For example, the NK News server, which monitors events in North Korea, was skeptical about the NIS report. He noted that Kim’s sister was absent from two important meetings of the North Korean leadership this month, and some observers even speculated that she would be transferred to a lower position.
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Born in 1987, Kim Jo-chong has been rising since the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, where she arrived for a welcoming ceremony. Kim Jo-chong subsequently accompanied her brother to major international meetings, including Kim’s summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump. Kim Jo-chong and her brother have been close since their youth, when they lived and studied together in Switzerland for several years.
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