Where in the world is Kim Jong-Un?

Whether a victim of a coup or ill health, his absence raises fears of military action, writes Christopher Harress.

SINCE North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un disappeared from public view over a month ago, observers of the highly secretive state have suggested that he may be seriously ill or even that he has been ousted in a military coup.

The latter may be unlikely, North Korea experts said, but, in all likelihood, the regime is in desperate economic straits. Given the nuclear-armed North’s propensity to make rash military decisions, such as the recent foray by a warship into South Korean-controlled waters, the situation has raised serious concerns about what Kim Jong-Un’s absence means militarily.