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.