Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, has disappeared from public view in what could be another sign that she has taken more control in the regime, an expert said.
The sister of the North Korean despot, who has not been seen since July 27, may lie low to offset speculation that he has relinquished some of his authority to her, South Korean outlet Chosun Ilbo reported.
Her absence comes as South Korean spies reveal that she now serves as his “de facto second-in-command,” though she has not been named his successor.
“In the past, everyone was deprived of their position at the time they were described as the number 2 person in the North,” Korea University Professor Nam Sung-wook told the newspaper.
“There should be an appearance of checks and balances, even though Kim Yo Jong is a family member.”
She was last seen standing next to the Hermit Kingdom honcho last month when he handed out commemorative pistols to military leaders on the 67th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War.
But she did not appear in the state-sanctioned photos released Tuesday of Kim at a high-level meeting to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for a typhoon.
The photos came after a former South Korean official claimed that the dictator had fallen into a coma.
His sister has also been a no-show at other meetings this summer, though she is now an alternate member of the Politburo, the senior body of North Korea’s ruling party, CNN reported.
Experts have said these absences are unusual but could be explained by their attendance at other businesses, the outlet reported.
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