South Korea politician Ha Tae-kyung said there had been a “delegation of power” and his authority as leader of the secretive state has been “transferred little by little”. He told the Korean Herald: “In regards to Kim Jong-un’s circumstances, ‘delegation of power’ was mentioned.
“Kim Jong-un still exerts absolute power, but in comparison to the past, some of the authority has been transferred little by little.”
Speaking after a closed-door parliamentary briefing with the National Intelligence Service in South Korea, he said “high stress levels” stemming from Kim’s role in governing the hermit state were one of the reasons behind the power shift.
It comes after speculation Kim Yo-jong, 32, would take over from her brother following reports the crackpot despot was dead earlier this year.
Kim Yo-jong is understood to be already exercising significant influence within the North Korean government.
Analyst Cheong Seong-Chang told how she took over state duties on his behalf, particularly in October 2014, when Kim Jong-un had medical treatment.
She was removed from the politburo in April last year, but was reinstated again earlier this year.
Kim Yo-jong previously called South Korea a “frightened barking dog” in her first public statement.
Go Myong-hyun, an analyst at the Asian Institute for Policy Studies, told The Guardian: “By having someone like Kim Yo-jong – who has been a dovish figure towards the South and acting as a soft and friendly messenger – issue such a strong statement condemning the current government, the North is raising its pressure.”
Kim Yo-jong was appointed a senior official in the ruling Workers’ Party in 2014, indicating Kim Jong-un’s sibling would take a greater role in supporting her brother’s authoritarian rule.
After first being seen in public at the funeral of her father, Kim Jong–il, in 2011, Yo Jong has attended the occasional political event including “field guidance trips” accompanying her brother, but without any official title.
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