Kim Jong-il's widow purged in Pyongyang's dynastic intrigue
Seoul (AsiaNews) - In one of the world's most powerful and cruellest families, purges never end. They can even touch those within the inner circle who are no longer major players. This appears to be the case for Kim Ok, the widow of the late "dear leader" Kim Jong-il, who was forced out by her stepson, the current dictator Kim Jong-un.
Radio Free Asia has reported that the former musician, dancer and personal secretary of the late North Korean leader has disappeared from the scene. She and her father Kim Hyo, a senior official in the Workers Party's Finance and Accounting Department, have " recently been dismissed from all their posts," a North Korean source said.
"They may have fallen victim to a political purge," as young leader Kim Jong-un sacked his stepmother to tighten his own grip on power.
After his father's death in December of 2011, rumours began circulating in the North that the regime has forced all the old guard from the Kim Jong-il era to leave their military, political and economist posts.
Kim Ok's case has a different twist. Jong-un's stepmother, Kim Jong-il's fourth wife and mother of at least two children she had with the late dictator, apparently tried to commit suicide after her husband's death.
After failing in the attempt, Kim Ok curried favour with Kim Jong-il's sister Kyong-hui and her husband Jang Song-taek, seen as the eminence grise behind the new regime.
However, the purge changed the situation, perhaps because Kim Ok is rumoured to have had a son with Kim Jong-il, now under the age of 10, who might have some claim to the North Korean "throne" currently occupied by Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-ils' son from his third wife.
For Chung Sung-jang of the Sejong Institute, Kim Ok's "main duty was to manage Kim Jong-il's schedule, and when Kim Jong-un took power she had nothing to do. Her father's dismissal also was a natural process that took place in a transition period," he said.
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12/02/2016 15:14
17/11/2010
