Silence on Kim fuels succession speculation
N. Korean leader said to be in poor health
SEOUL, South Korea — With North Korea saying nothing so far about outside media reports that leader Kim Jong Un may be unwell, there’s renewed worry about who’s next in line to run a nuclear-armed country that’s been ruled by the same family for seven decades.
Questions about Kim’s health flared after he skipped an April 15 commemoration of the 108th birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. It’s North Korea’s most important event, and Kim, 36, hadn’t missed it since inheriting power from his father in 2011.
North Korea’s state media on Wednesday said Kim sent a message thanking Syria’s president for conveying greetings on his grandfather’s birthday, but didn’t report any other activities. Rival South Korea repeated that no unusual developments had been detected in the North.
Kim has been out of the public eye for extended periods in the past, and North Korea’s secretive nature allows few outsiders to assert confidently whether he might be unwell. Still, questions about the North’s political future are likely to grow if he fails to attend upcoming public events.
A strong personality cult has been built around Kim, his father and grandfather. The family’s mythical “Paektu” bloodline, named after the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, is said to give only direct family members the right to rule the nation.
That makes Kim’s younger sister, senior ruling party official Kim Yo
Jong, the most likely candidate to step in if her brother becomes incapacitated or dies. But some experts say a collective leadership, which could end the family’s dynastic rule, could also be possible.
Kim Yo Jong has frequently appeared with her brother at public activities. She accompanied Kim Jong Un on his high-stakes summits with President Donald Trump and other world leaders.
“I think the basic assumption would be that maybe it would be someone in the family” to replace Kim Jong Un, U.S. national security adviser Robert O’brien told reporters Tuesday. “But again, it’s too early to talk about that, because we just don’t know, you know, what condition Chairman Kim is in, and we’ll have to see how it plays out.”