North Korean leader Kim Jong-un certainly didn’t look like a man who was about to slip into a coma when he was photographed last Wednesday in Pyongyang.
But questions have immediately emerged about when that photo was actually taken - it could even be months old.
Since last week, the rumour mill has once again gone into overdrive. There are reports that the dictator is near death with his younger sister Kim Yo-jong poised to take over ruling the sealed off fiefdom.
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South Korea’s National Intelligence Service has told the country’s politicians that Kim’s sister is now “de facto second in command” and she could take over the running of the brutal regime upon his death.
However, even her whereabouts are now being questioned.
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Kim Jo-young, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who is said to be “de facto second in command” of the regime. Picture: Reuters Source: Supplied
CAN MOST RECENT PHOTO BE BELIEVED?
On North Korean TV last week, Supreme Leader Kim looked in good health.
Wearing a blindingly white jacket, tortoiseshell glasses and with slicked black hair, he entered the auditorium of one of the regime’s buildings in central Pyongyang to rapturous applause from subjects dressed in near identical garb.
He was reported to have chaired the snappily titled, sixth plenary meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea, on 19 August.
However, there are some doubts as to the veracity of the images.
Distributed by respected news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), it admitted it had no way of knowing the truth behind the footage.
On a disclaimer to news organisations worldwide, AFP said the images were supplied by a “third party” via the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), a mouthpiece of the North Korean Government.
“AFP cannot independently verify the authenticity, location, date and content of this image”.
It is a common note news organisations worldwide place on images from the so-called hermit kingdom when they are totally reliant on footage from the Pyongyang regime.
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Which means it’s possible that the photo may not have been taken on Thursday of last week at all.
Indeed, the image looks a lot like one distributed in December of Kim chairing the fifth plenary meeting of the seventh central committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea which was held in exactly the same place.
At the December shindig, Kim had the same white jacket, the same specs, the same hair and the same red backdrop.
It is of course possible that the images are entirely genuine and that Kim simply likes white jackets for certain party meetings. Indeed, he does like donning an all white wardrobe on occasions, and sometimes all back outfits.
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he is a great leader. he is also a legend