bdmetronews Desk ॥ Unconfirmed reports about Kim Jong Un’s health raise the question of whether his younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, will one day lead North Korea.
Unconfirmed reports about Kim Jong Un’s health have been shrouded in even more than the customary North Korean murkiness. But out of the fog of questions, one name keeps cropping up as policymakers and analysts contemplate who else might lead the reclusive nuclear-armed nation: Kim Yo Jong.
She’s Kim Jong Un’s younger sister, and many observers say she could be the most likely choice. However, the speculation raises another big question: Could a woman, even the sister of the current leader, ever lead North Korea?
North Korea watchers began to speculate whether something had happened to Kim Jong Un after he missed the April 15 commemoration of the birthday of his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung. He hasn’t missed the event since assuming power in 2011, after his father died from a heart attack. The speculation reached a fever pitch over the weekend with a fresh round of unconfirmed reports.
The disappearance came amid recent missiles launches and the North’s repeated claims that there are no coronavirus cases in the country—an assertion international health experts doubt.
South Korea, for its part, has repeatedly said there is no sign of “unusual developments” in the North. Moon Chung-in, the top foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told CNN that the leader is “alive and well.”
But, there appears to be no formal succession plan in place in North Korea. Kim is believed to be in his mid-30s, but he is a heavy smoker, and some medical experts have suggested that he is obese and unhealthy. All of which means, even if Kim emerges unscathed into the public view in near future, attention will remain on Kim Yo Jong and others who might be prepared to succeed him.
