Kim Jong-un Is No Longer in Control of North Korea

North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un has been missing from public view because he’s recuperating from surgery to repair two broken ankles, a new report says.

The North Korean leader, who has gained weight since assuming leadership of the repressive, eccentric country, had been seen limping in official state videos before disappearing from view in early September.

Kim ended up in the hospital because he put off getting treatment for his injuries, The Chosun Ilbo reported.

An elite group of exiles from North Korea gathered in September in the Netherlands to discuss the state of the regime they used to serve. The conference included top diplomats, an ex-senior official of the Ministry of Security, and a high-ranking military officer, but the keynote address was given by Jang Jin-sung, formerly a key member of Kim Jong-il’s propaganda machine. Included in Jang’s speech was a surprising assertion: North Korea is in the midst of a civil war.

According to Jang — a former counterintelligence official and poet laureate under Kim Jong-il — members of the government’s Organization and Guidance Department (OGD), a powerful group of officials that once reported only to Kim Jong-il, have stopped taking orders from his son, Kim Jong-un. The OGD, Jang says, has effectively taken control of the country, and a conflict is simmering between factions that want to maintain absolute control over the economy and others seeking to gain wealth through foreign trade and a slightly more open market.

“On one hand, it’s people who want to maintain a regime monopoly,” Jang told VICE News through a translator in an interview Thursday. “On the other hand, it’s not like people are fighting against the regime, but in a policy sense they want to take advantage to get influence. It’s not actually consciously civil war, but there are these two incompatible forces at play.”

Jang’s statements come during a moment of peak curiosity about the hermit kingdom. Kim Jong-un — the portly 31-year-old who assumed the title of Supreme Leader after his father’s death in 2011 — has been absent from public view for nearly a month. He was last seen walking with a pronounced limp during a July ceremony commemorating the death of his grandfather, Kim Il-sung. He typically presides over the Supreme People’s Assembly, a rubber-stamp parliament, but missed the meeting in early September, and was replaced by a propaganda video that again showed him limping. “Despite some discomfort, our Marshal continues to come out and lead the people,” the film’s narrator said.

Whatever the cause, Kim Jong-un’s absence has sparked another round of speculation about the stability of the North Korean regime and what will happen to the country if the young dictator dies or becomes deposed. Rumors of a coup spread quickly earlier this week on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, followed quickly by a stern denial from China, the regime’s chief ally. A US State Department spokeswoman told reporters Monday that the coup reports are unconfirmed.