Chang Song-min, a former aide to South Korea's late president Kim Dae-Jung on Sunday fired up rumours by claiming that North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un is actually in a coma and that his sister, Kim Yo-jong, is presently poised for power to take over North Korea.
Taking to social media Song-min said that the fact that Kim Yo-Jong has been made the de facto second-in-command speaks for itself since, he claimed, 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.
Song-min said that authority and responsibility have been delegated to Kim Jong-un's sister for managing relations with the US and South Korea. He has claimed to have gotten the information from a source in China as per The Korea Herald.
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 North Korea's capital, Pyongyang.
On the other hand, North Korean media has consistently bogused any reports of Kim Jong-un being physically unwell and said that the Supreme Leader has recently reviewed the economic challenges posed by the country due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak.
