WATCH: North Korea celebrated a major holiday on Friday, without an appearance from leader Kim Jong Un. He hasn’t been seen in more than a month, fueling speculation that the reclusive leader may be seriously ill. Aarti Pole reports.
The Internet is running rampant with rumours about the disappearance of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has not made a public appearance since early September.
After 37 days out of the limelight, the young despot failed turn up for a high-profile event — the 69th anniversary of the Worker’s Party, founded by his late grandfather Kim Il-Sung.
READ MORE: Kim Jong Un misses North Korea celebrations, sparking more rumours
It was the first time in three years that Kim wasn’t on the list of dignitaries, furthering speculation about his health and his grasp on power.
What are the rumours about his disappearance?
Kim had been walking with a limp and was more overweight than usual in images that aired before that. An official documentary from late last month described him as dealing with “discomfort,” which led to international speculation that he may be ill.
North Korean media reported Sept. 26 Kim was “suffering discomfort,” Reuters reported.
The speculation ran the gamut from the 31-year-old leader dealing with gout, an affliction both his father and grandfather had, to him suffering from poor health due to his addiction to cheese.
“Kim Jong-un broke his ankle after he had put on extra weight from regularly consuming imported cheese,” India Today reported, citing another report.
There’s also discussion that he’s been the victim of a coup, something a source told Reuters is completely false.
“Kim Jong Un is in complete control,” the Reuters source said, adding the overweight leader injured his knee and ankle while observing military drills in late August or early September and needed 100 days to recover.
Reuters admitted it could not independently verify the source’s claims.
Michael Madden, editor of the website NK Leadership Watch, offered a different opinion to DeutscheWelle: “He’s likely burned out from overwork – and that would aggravate any underlying physical problems. It’s possible that a different external environment could mitigate some of Kim Jong Un’s work-related stress,” Madden said.
Who might be running the show at the moment?
As Kim’s health and whereabouts remain a mystery, speculation has been rife about who’s in charge of North Korea — also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or DPRK.
Kim could still be calling the shots, but his second-in-command Hwang Pyong So has been the official most in the public eye recently.
He appeared the closing ceremony for the Asian Games in neighbouring South Korea on Oct. 4.
Hwang’s visit was a surprise to many, as was the meeting and a delegation of North Korean officials had with South Korean officials.
The Associated Press reported it was the “highest level face-to-face talks in five years.”
READ MORE: Examples of North Korea human rights violations from UN report
The details of the meeting aren’t known, but it was made public that officials from both sides of the Demilitarized Zone would meet again in November.
There’s also speculation Kim’s younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, may be calling the shots for the time being.
CNN reported North Korea analyst Victor Cha saying she had been more visible this year and may be coming out of her older brother’s shadow.
“I can see how it’s possible that she’s in some sort of temporary position. It’s very difficult for the North Korean system to run without one of the Kim family at least titularly in charge,” Cha, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNN. “So, if Kim Jong Un is indisposed, she’s really the only available body that’s left, in terms of a direct Kim family line.”
The youngest child of late dictator Kim Jong Il, who died in 2011, Kim Yo Jong already holds a position of power, as the deputy leader of the Worker’s Party.
But, Cha said if Kim Yo Jong is in fact serving as her brother’s stand-in it’s likely something is “seriously wrong with Kim Jong Un.”
Regardless of Kim Jong Un’s whereabouts, there are still hostilities between North and South
South Korean news agency Yonhap reported machine gun fire between North and South Korean forces occurred on Friday.
“Shots could be heard from north of the border at around 3:55 p.m., and about an hour later, rounds apparently fired from North Korean anti-aircraft machine guns were discovered near the military camps here and the community center in Yeoncheon,” Yonhap reported an anonymous South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff officer saying.
The exchange of fire happened after a group called Free North Korea released balloons, carrying anti-DPRK propaganda, near the border with the North.
With files from The Associated Press
Comments