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soryang

(3,299 posts)
Mon Aug 24, 2020, 02:30 PM Aug 2020

Rumors explained: Is Kim Jong Un really in a coma? Will Kim Yo Jong take over?

Last edited Mon Aug 24, 2020, 03:12 PM - Edit history (1)

Rumors surface yet again that Kim Jong Un is gravely ill and Kim Yo Jong assumed power — but most of it is likely false
Colin Zwirko | Jeongmin Kim August 24, 2020

...It appears that the latest round of rumors also caused some disturbance to South Korean government agencies. For example, NK News understands that some security officers received intelligence that “Kim Jong Un fell into a coma during brain surgery” and that Kim Jong Il’s half-brother, Kim Pyong Il, took over in Pyongyang — all around the same time Chang posted his argument on Facebook...

...Rumors over Kim Jong Un’s health first surfaced in April, after he was conspicuously absent from an annual event. Kim reappeared just a few weeks later — though exhibiting signs of possible health issues — and continued through June to shy away from the public eye more than in the past. But seemingly turning the tide, his appearances became more frequent again starting in July...

...

However, undated visits to the construction sites of the Pyongyang General Hospital and the Kwangchon Chicken Farm, reported in late July, were captured on video, providing additional visual reference points. An NK News analysis comparing the videos with commercially-available satellite imagery suggests that the visits likely took place just days prior to the state media reports — a conclusion made by matching the location of items on the ground and the stages of building construction.


More: https://www.nknews.org/2020/08/is-kim-jong-un-in-a-coma-again-will-kim-yo-jong-take-over-heres-what-we-know/?t=1598278764141

Looks like NK News came out from behind the paywall to try to look at evidence rather than listen to rumors spurred by a source who has been wrong on this story since last April. Obviously, spreading unreliable information is designed to create a succession crisis in North Korea. The spreading of rumors within the South Korean government is alarming and appears in the context of other events aimed at creating an unrelenting sense of crisis in Seoul. These events include severe flooding, the intentional aggravation of the covid pandemic by right wing radicals, and the economic downturn associated with the epidemic. The conservative media in South Korea are part of the problem.

The two NK News photographs of Kim dated Aug 20 and July 26 appear authentic to me. The presentation of pistols to high ranking military officers was a custom started by Kim Il-sung. The July 26 image recreates an event in an old film where Kim Il-sung presents custom made "Bektusan" pistols to military commanders. The pistols presented by Kim Jong-un to his commanders appear to be more modest than the Bektusan collectors item.

The Case of the Missing Bektusan Pistol
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2018/09/missing-ceremonial-bektusan-pistol.html

Who is Kim Pyong-il? Choe Ryong-hae sits to Kim's left in the NK News Aug 20 photo. According to Thae Yong-ho, NK defector, and right wing politician in South Korea, Choe is Kim's right hand man and the "Kingmaker" in North Korea. I have Thae's analysis at the link below.


(Source- Channel A News Top Ten, 4.24) Kim Il Sung (left); Kim Pyong-il (center); Thae Ku-min aka Thae Yong-ho (right)

https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2020/04/kingmaker-in-north-korea.html
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Rumors explained: Is Kim Jong Un really in a coma? Will Kim Yo Jong take over? (Original Post) soryang Aug 2020 OP
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