Chennai: There are new questions surrounding the health of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after his reported absence from ‘Army Day’ celebrations. This is the second major event the Supreme Leader has missed in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, a train likely belonging to Kim has been parked at his compound on the country’s east coast since last week, satellite imagery showed, amid speculation about his health that has been caused, in part, by a long period out of the public eye.
In 2013, now North Korea supreme leader Kim Jong Un executed his uncle and mentor Jang Song Thaek, accusing him of treason and corruption, a major step in consolidating his rule in the ‘hermit kingdom’.
Bloody power struggles are nothing new in the nuclear-armed state, and one could be on the cards if the growing unconfirmed rumours and media reports about Kim’s health have any truth to it. There were talks of a serious health issue—caused by a heart problem and a botched stent operation which left him in a ‘vegetative state’—after Kim missed an 15 April commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung.
Kim Jong Un is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea, and he hadn’t missed the April 15 event since assuming power after his father Kim Jong Il’s death in late 2011. If Kim Jong Un passes, experts predict a massive upheaval in North Korea and serious immediate political turmoil.