North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has fallen into a coma, and his decision to delegate power to aides is proof, a former South Korean official has claimed.
The leader has delegated part of his authority to his close aides as well as his younger sister, Kim Yo-jong.
Chang Song-min, who served as the political affairs secretary to ex-South Korean president Kim Dae-jung, took to local media on Friday.
"I assess him to be in coma, but his life has not ended," he said.
"A complete succession structure has not been formed, so Kim Yo-jong is being brought to the fore as the vacuum cannot be maintained for a prolonged period."
Chang said he secured the information from a source in China and alleged all the photographs of Kim Jong-un released by North Korea in recent months were fake, according to the Korea Herald.
Kim Jong-un has only been seen in public a handful of times this year and had been reported in 'grave danger' after a heart operation in April this year.
