New star shines in North Korea amid speculation over ‘missing’ leader Kim

He’s climbed from an obscure desk job in North Korea to the most powerful position outside the ruling Kim family. Hwang Pyong So, now a top military aide to the North’s leader Kim Jong Un, has had an unprecedented rise to the top rungs of North Korea’s leadership in the space of a few years. With intense speculation on the whereabouts of Kim - who some suggest has lost control of the secretive state - after his disappearance from official media for over a month, Hwang is even more in focus.

Hwang was promoted because Kim Jong Un was impressed with his division, the most combat-ready of the ones Kim inspected.

Source close to the North Korean leadership

Last week, the 64 or 65-year-old headed a delegation that visited South Korea for the closing ceremony of the Asian Games in Incheon with little advance notice. He is the most senior official from the North to have ever come to the South, and opinion is divided on whether this could be a sign of turmoil in Pyongyang. Michael Madden, an expert on the North Korean leadership, said people who have met Hwang described him as lacking arrogance, favouring consensus and “very pleasant to interact with.” Sources have played down the speculation that Kim Jong Un has lost power, however, by saying that he needs 100 days to recuperate from an injured leg.

Asia-Pacific Kim Jong Un