Amidst burgeoning circumstantial evidence of Kim Kyong Hui’s physical incapacitation overseas, opinion of her in some quarters of North Korean society has dropped to an all-time low. Kim has even been accused of “preying” on husband Jang Song Taek, the former Vice-chairman of the National Defense Commission who was executed late last year.
Rumors are rife that Kim was treated for a heart attack brought on by the execution of Jang in December for a litany of “anti-state crimes.” Many people also believe that she is effectively in hiding, unable to appear in public life because she has lost every last vestige of “face” in elite circles as a result of her husband’s very public death.
A source in Yangkang Province reported to Daily NK on the 19th, “People are saying that Kim is so sick that she can’t even move. She didn’t make an appearance on Kim Jong Il’s birthday [February 16th] or for these [Supreme People’s Assembly] elections, and that is even more evidence that something is wrong.”
“Men are the ones making the most cynical remarks; for example, ‘What good
could possibly come of a woman who preyed on her husband?'” the source added. “People are noting the point that there must have been a serious situation for them to feel there was no choice but to order the death of Jang Song Taek.”
“As soon as she stopped appearing people began to wonder if she’d had a stroke. After all, she used to appear regularly at state events, ” the source said. “The execution of Jang Song Taek was an omen
that the Kim family is soon to collapse.”
“It wouldn’t be any exaggeration to say that people’s view of Kim Kyong Hui has been sent to rock bottom by Jang’s execution,” she concluded.
Kim Kyong Hui, once considered the most powerful woman in North Korea, was last seen in public on September 9th, 2013 during celebrations marking the founding of the North Korean state.
