Who could take power in North Korea?

Although the South Korean presidency has not confirmed the information and said there is no indication of unusual activity in North Korea, Reuters mentions several high-ranking figures who could follow in Pyongyang, after Kim Ir Sen, his son, Kim Jong Il, and current power holder Kim Jong Un.

Kim Yo Jong (pictured below), Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, has been the most visible presence near the leader in the past two years. Officially, starting this month, he is an alternate member of the Central Committee of the Pyongyang Labor Party; Unofficially, she is her brother’s chief of staff and controls key positions in North Korea’s single party. He is supposed to be 31 years old. It could be the main source of power behind collective leadership, including several veterans of the party.

Choe Ryong Jae is formally the head of state of North Korea, that is, president of the presidency of the Supreme People’s Assembly. He was previously the political leader of the North Korean army; He has decades of service to the Kim family.

Pak Pong Ju, another member of the Labor Party’s political bureau, was prime minister at a time when some free-market activities were expanding to boost the national economy.

Kim Jong Chol, party vice president and former high representative for nuclear affairs, and Foreign Minister Ri Son Gwon could handle diplomatic affairs, including unlocking negotiations on denuclearization; both played important roles in organizing Kim Jong Un’s meetings with the President of the United States, Donald Trump.

Kim Jong Un’s relatives are also known not to have a close relationship with him. His brother Kim Jong Chol has so far not been part of the country’s leadership and leads a quiet life as a musician without being interested in public life, according to diplomat Thae Yong Ho, a former deputy ambassador to North Korea, a refugee in Korea. from the south. However, Reuters shows that some analysts consider that it can appear if necessary.

Kim Kyong Hui, Kim Jong Il’s sister, was an important figure in the regime before her nephew came to power. She did not appear in public after her husband, Jang Song Thaek, was executed in 2013 on the order of Kim Jong Un. After being ill for a long time, she attended a gala presentation with the current leader this year.

Finally, Reuters looks at a possible new generation, the fourth, of the Kim dynasty. Kim Jong Un is supposed to have three children with Ri Sol Ju; the oldest is 10 years old and the youngest was born in 2017, according to the South Korean intelligence service. Being too young, either of them would need family or political guardianship.

Kim Jong Il was trained for 20 years to take power from his father, and when he died suddenly after a stroke, Kim Jong Un had just over a year to assert himself in leadership.

Seoul downplays Kim Jong Un’s health information amid rumors

South Korea on Tuesday downplayed reports that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un had recently undergone surgery, while some observers wonder about his absence from the Pyongyang ceremonies last week.

North Korea celebrated 108 years since the birth of the founder of the Stalinist regime Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of the current leader. This date is the most important in the northern political calendar. But Kim Jong Un was not seen in any of the official photos.

Daily NK, an online publication run primarily by abandoned North Koreans, reveals that the dictator underwent surgery in April due to cardiovascular problems and is recovering from a villa in North Phyongan province.

This information has not been confirmed. But it is causing an avalanche of speculation.

Citing a US official, CNN reveals that Washington is “studying information” that Kim Jong Un is “in grave danger after surgery,” without specifying whether this “information” comes from the Daily NK article.

“We have nothing to confirm and no special movement has been detected in North Korea,” a spokesman for the Blue House, the South Korean presidency, said in a statement.

South Korea’s official news agency Yohnap also quotes a senior South Korean official who said on condition of anonymity that the information that Kim was seriously ill “is not true.”

Kim’s last public appearance in a press coverage of the official press took place on April 11, when he chaired a meeting of the (only) Political Bureau of the Korean Workers’ Party, in which the party called for stronger action against The new coronavirus.

Pyongyang, which has closed its borders and imposed population restrictions, continues by saying that no cases of covid-19 have been reported in North Korea.

This is not the first time that Kim Jong Un’s absence has fueled all kinds of speculation.

In 2014, he was not seen for six weeks, after which he appeared on the staff. South Korean intelligence, cited by Yonhap, revealed that he had undergone surgery to remove a cyst from his ankle.

“No one knows what is happening within North Korea,” said Martyn Williams, an affiliate of the 38 North Institute.

“Kim Jong Il had been dead for days before this was announced, and this took everyone by surprise.“He points out in a message posted on Twitter.

“Kim Jong Un has already been reported missing, but has always reappeared. That said, his absence this week has been more than notable.”

Some South Korean officials have expressed doubts about the credibility of the information revealed by Daily NK.

Covering North Korea’s current affairs is particularly complicated, especially regarding everything to do with the private life of Kim Jong Un, one of the regime’s best-kept secrets.

South Korea’s Unification Ministries, which deal with inter-Korean affairs, and Defense declined to comment.

Moon Chung-in, security adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told AFP that he had not heard anything special about Kim’s health.

Some experts have also called for caution.

“There is no confirmation at this stage, and it is too early to draw conclusions about his health,” said Ahn Chan-il, a fugitive from the north who became an investigator in Seoul.

He revealed that a cardiac operation would involve state-of-the-art medical equipment, which can only be found “in institutions in Pyongyang.” It would be “unreasonable” for Kim Jong Un to be transported to another location for surgery.