By Park Si-soo
Taiwan’s intelligence chief said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is “sick” but remains in control of the nuclear-armed nation.
Chiu Kuo-cheng, director of the National Security Bureau (NSB), said the North has contingency plans in the event of Kim’s sudden death, according to local reports.
The director revealed this at a government hearing by legislators.
“My answer is from the intelligence that is available and it is not an opinion,” Chiu said.
He laughed and refused to reply when asked if Kim was alive, the report said.
When asked about how the bureau had obtained the sensitive intelligence, the director refused to elaborate, citing the need to protect the intelligence service’s sources in North Korea.
He assured legislators that contingency plans were ready for a potential power struggle in the region if the North Korean leader did succumb, according to the Taipei Times.
However, his deputy, Hu Mu-yuan, later insisted that their intelligence was “unable to confirm the status of Kim Jong-un’s health,” the paper said.
“From what we know, Kim is still in charge and in control of North Korea’s military and its government,” Hu said, according to the paper.
