10/02/2012, 00.00
NORTH KOREA
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Kim Kyong-hui, the "Lady Macbeth" of North Korea is hospitalized

The aunt of the dictator, sister of the late Kim Jong-il, orchestrated several purges within the ruling family in the country. Reports of her admission to hospital in Singapore for "treatment."

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Kim Kyong-hui, the aunt of the powerful North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, was hospitalized in serious condition at a hospital in Singapore. The woman, aged 66, is the wife of Jang Song-taek: together with her husband, she has forced her nephew to share power after the death of Kim Jong-il, the "dear leader" of the country who died last December. The news was confirmed by an anonymous source in the North and reported by newspapers in Seoul: "I know that Kim arrived in Singapore with some bodyguards, she is in the hospital and is undergoing treatment."

The first doubts over the women's health arose on September 27, when she was absent from the session of the Supreme People's Assembly. Rumors of her ill-health began to circulate in 2009, when several photographs of the woman - taken at different times - revealed a worsening condition. However, since December she has been increasingly present in the public arena.

This presence can be explained with the "mentoring" that the couple imposed on the new dictator. Jong-un, who is under 30 years old, was designated as heir by his father after a long period of uncertainty, but the boy is younger than his brothers and has not (yet) the support of the powerful national army. For this reason his aunt and uncle, on the advice of his father, are in volved in the early stages of his reign.

Kim is considered one of the most powerful women in Asia. According to many political dissidents - including the famous Japanese chef kidnapped by Kim Jong-il to make sushi for the dictator's "court" -  she control's her husband, Head of the national military. In addition, she was behind the exile of Kim Jong-nam, Jong-il's eldest son and original successor and exiled in disgrace after a unauthorized visit to Tokyo.

 

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