Kim Jong-un in coma, claims S Korean diplomat after his sister becomes second in command

North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un is in a coma and hence, his sister Kim Yo-jong has been made the de facto second in command with authority and responsibility delegated to her for managing relations with the US and South Korea, says a former aide of South Korea’s late president Kim Dae-Jung, again flaring up the speculations of Kim Jong Un's deteriorating health. 

Chang Song-min, who served as the political affairs secretary to South Korean late president took to social media to assert that North Korean ruler wouldn't pass on authority to another person unless he is too sick to rule or ousted in a coup, reiterating his earlier claim of Kim Jong Un being bedridden and unable to rule. He claimed to have got the information from a source in China according to The Korea Herald.

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Chang Song-min told South Korean media: “I assess him to be in a coma, but his life has not ended. “A complete succession structure has not been formed, so Kim Yo-jong is being brought to the fore as the vacuum cannot be maintained for a prolonged period.”

Chang Song-min went on to state that the photos released by North Korean media of Kim Jong Un in recent months are fake. However, he said the power restructuring does not make Kim Yo-jong the successor to the North Korean ruler.

Seoul’s spy agency informed the South Korean political leaders in a closed-door meeting on a new ruling system that Kim seemed to have adopted delegating authority and responsibility to some of his most trusted aides. But according to the National Intelligence Agency, this change doesn’t appear to be linked to any major health problem, said The Korean Herald.

Kim Jong Un made fewer public appearances this year while there were even speculations of his death. Some even believed a failed heart surgery has left him bedridden or has killed him. However, all rumours were laid to rest when he made an appearance at the opening of a fertiliser factory in Suchon near the North's capital, Pyongyang.

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