SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong-Il’s companion and longtime secretary is emerging as a key player in the communist nation after the autocratic leader’s stroke.
South Korean officials are keeping a close eye on Kim Ok amid some intelligence reports that she’s not only nursing the ailing leader but also signing official documents on his behalf.
Experts believe the communist leader is retaining a firm grip on power, running the nation from his bed with the help of military and communist party chiefs in line with the nation’s “songun,” or “military first,” policy. But they are not discounting the role of the woman who is seen by some as the de-facto first lady.
“She is the closest person personally to Kim Jong-Il,” said Marcus Noland, a North Korea expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. “In some ways, she’s the one guarding the bedroom or hospital door. She would be in a position to convey his preferences.”
Kim, 66, reportedly suffered a stroke last month and is recuperating following emergency brain surgery — though North Korean officials deny the communist leader, who was last seen in public more than a month ago, is ill.
The notoriously secretive nation bars ordinary citizens from Web access, and most cannot make international phone calls. Late founder Kim Il-Sung engineered a cult of personality that encompassed himself and his son that tolerates no criticism or opposition.
Kim Jong-Il was groomed for 20 years to take over as leader, finally assuming the mantle after his father’s death in 1994 in the communist world’s first hereditary transfer of power. He has three sons — Jong-Nam, Jong-Chul and Jong-Un — but does not appear to have anointed any of them as his heir-apparent.
The longer Kim — known to have diabetes and heart disease — remains bedridden, the greater the likelihood of a power vacuum, analysts say.
“If his health problem prolongs, some internal feuding for power will likely occur,” said Kang Sung-Yoon, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Dongguk University.
And Kim Ok may be poised to fill any void. Experts speculate the North Korean leader’s dependence on her during his illness may further bolster her political clout.
“If Kim Jong-Il can’t communicate with others, her role will be larger,” said Kang Jung-Mo, a North Korea expert at Kyung Hee University.
Little is known about her. Kim Jong-Il is believed to have had three wives before taking Kim Ok as his consort several years ago.
She is said to be a pianist in her 40s who has served as the leader’s secretary since the 1980s. Furthering the intrigue, Kim’s late wife, Ko Yong-Hi, — mother of his two younger sons — hand-picked Kim Ok to replace her when she was dying of cancer, according to South Korea’s Joong Ang Ilbo newspaper.
On Wednesday, South Korean Prime Minister Han Seung-Soo ordered the government to stop leaking intelligence about Kim, saying the rampant speculation could end up provoking Pyongyang.
“But we speculate because the North Korean government makes its living depriving outsiders of information,” said Nicholas Eberstadt, a researcher at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute.
