In the way of "Kim" ... the younger sister of the North Korean leader is disappearing from view
South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo newspaper said Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un has disappeared from view in what may be another sign that she has become more in control of the regime.
The newspaper mentioned that the sister of the North Korean leader, who has not been spotted since July 27, and has not been seen in public for nearly a month, which is not unusual, may be excluded despite speculation that he ceded some of his power to her.
Her absence comes at a time when intelligence reports in South Korea revealed that she now occupies the position of "second in command", despite not having appointed a successor.
"In the past, any person was deprived of his position the moment he was described as the second person in the North," Korean academic Nam Song-wook told the newspaper.
"There should be something like checks and balances, even though Kim Jong is a member of the family," he added.
She was last seen last month, handing out commemorative pistols to military leaders on the 67th anniversary of the Korean War armistice.
However, it did not appear in the state-approved photos that were released on Tuesday of Kim at a high-level meeting to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic.
The official North Korean News Agency stated that the leader discussed the storm that befell the country, and a day earlier, he discussed the Corona outbreak at a meeting of the Workers' Party's Political Bureau.
Most of the Labor Party leaders participated in the meeting, but the leader's sister did not attend, despite being a candidate for membership in the Politburo.
The pictures surfaced after the former South Korean president's aide claimed that the North Korean leader was in a coma.
CNN reported that his sister also did not attend other meetings this summer, although she is now an alternate member of the Politburo, the supreme body of North Korea's ruling party.
Experts said that these absences are unusual, but can be explained by her presence in other works, according to the same source.
This absence is subject to several interpretations, as there are those who believe that the leader's sister fears that the regular appearance will determine the nature of its role in the system, while North Korea is keen on a high degree of secrecy.
And South Korean media recently quoted Chang Song, a former assistant to former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, as saying that the health condition of the leader of the northern neighbor is "deteriorating."
In media statements, he expressed his expectation that Kim Jong Un would be in a coma, "but his life is not over yet."
He explained that the sister of the North Korean leader, Kim Yo-jung (33 years old) is currently managing some of the main sites, which are usually held by her brother.
He added that no structure has been formed for who will succeed Kim Jong Un, so his sister is being prepared to rule as no power vacuum can be preserved for a long time.