North
Korean dictator Kim Jong Un fell into a coma, a former South Korean official
said, on the heels of rumours, that the northern leader had ceded some of his
control to his younger sister.
Chang
Song-min, a former aide to late South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, believed
that the Hermit Kingdom's honcho had become critically ill as he speculated
about his limited public presence this year, Mirror said.
"I
believe he's in a coma, but his life hasn't ended," he said to the South
Korean media.
The
former aide added that Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of the leader, was ready
to help lead the country.
"There
has not been a complete structure of succession, so Kim Yo Jong is brought to
the fore as the vacuum cannot be maintained for a long period of time," he
said.
His
comments come after the South Korean spies disclosed that the 33-year-old
sibling is now his "de facto second-in-command," although he has not
been named his successor.
In
a closed-door meeting with lawmakers, the National Intelligence Service said
that the change in power is partly aimed at "relieving (Kim's) stress from
his reign and avoiding guilt in the event of political failure," the
Yonhap News Agency reported.
"Kim
Yo Jong, the first Vice-Department Director of the Workers' Party Central
Committee, is managing the overall state affairs on the basis of a
delegation," the Organization reportedly said.
Kim
was seen only a few times in public this year after reports swirled that he was
clinging to life in April due to a failed heart surgery.
Claims
came months after the North Korean tyrant had not made a public appearance in
the wake of speculations about his declining health. He was last seen chairing
a meeting of the Workers' Party Politburo on April 11 before South President
Moon Jae's top security advisor, downplaying reports that Kim Jong Un was
"alive and well."
He
was then seen cutting the ribbon at the opening of the fertiliser factory on
May 2, said KCNA.
However,
Chang reported that all photographs of Kim released by North Korea in recent
months have been false.
The
rumours concerning his health:
· Initial reports from South
Korea indicated that Kim was in a vegetative state after suffering a heart
attack.
· However, the North Korean
defector says that the dictator was actually wounded during a missile test.
· South Korea later insisted
that he was still 'live and well'
· In the West, a senior US
senator said that Kim was "probably dead or disabled"
· But President Trump denied
the report calling it 'fake news'
· Chinese journalist Shijian
Xingzou said a "very solid source" told her that the North Korean
leader had died.
· China has reportedly sent
medical experts to North Korea to verify the health of the leader.
·
Written
by – Mehak Sachdeva
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