by STEVE HAN
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s younger sister Kim Yo-jong is reportedly in control of the hermit country in place of her brother whose illness has prevented him from making public appearances for almost a month, according to North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity (NKIS), a South Korea-based think tank.
Kim Yo-jong, the youngest daughter of late leader Kim Jong-il, was unveiled as a “senior official” in March as she was seen alongside her brother at the Supreme People’s Assembly. She had reportedly taken over the role of her aunt Kim Kyong-hui, the wife of Jang Song-thaek, a former senior government official who was executed in December for allegedly committing “anti-party acts.”
Although Hwang Byong-so, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, was believed to have assumed the status as North Korea’s No. 2 man behind Kim Jong-un, NKIS reported that it is Kim Yo-jong who is the communist regime’s second-in-command while Hwang is a mere “shadow.”
On Sept. 6, Kim Yo-jung led a meeting for the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, during which the North Korean regime has reportedly decided on four main topics. Those topics include:
1. Give special and extended medical treatment to Kim Jong-un until his health is fully restored.
2. All high level officials and party members must continue to follow Kim Jong-un’s previous orders.
3. The army should be on wartime-like alert while Kim Jong-un is out of commission.
4. Important government and other administrative matters must be reported to Kim Yo-jong.
Kim Jong-un last made his public appearance in early September when he was limping with visible discomfort in his right leg. North Korea’s state-run media reported that he is undergoing medical treatment from both domestic and foreign medical teams, but his prolonged absence is fueling rumors over his health issues.
While South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reported that Kim Jong-un is suffering from gout, U.K.’s Daily Mirror bizarrely said that it’s in fact his addiction Swiss cheese that contributed to his deteriorating health. Recently, Free North Korea Radio reported that Kim is recovering from a successful ankle surgery.
