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Kim Jong Un’s uncle emerges as possible successor in North Korea

Despite speculation that Kim Jong Un’s sister and closest confidant, Kim Yo Jong, might be next in line to take over leadership of North Korea, the dictator’s uncle Kim Pyong Il also has emerged as a possible successor, according to a report.

The 65-year-old is the last known survivor of the Hermit Kingdom’s founder, Kim Il Sung, whose 108th birthday commemoration his grandson missed on April 15, sparking widespread rumors about his fate, Bloomberg News reported.

In the 1970s, Kim Pyong Il was passed over by his half-brother, Kim Jong II, who took the reins of the rogue regime in 1994 and ruled until 2011.

The peripatetic Kim Pyong Il wound up spending some 40 years as a diplomat in Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, Poland and the Czech Republic before he returned to his country last year.

Some North Korea watchers now think he might catapult over Kim Yo Jong to take control, mainly due to his gender in the male-dominated society, according to the news outlet.

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CHINA SUGGESTS U.S. IS 'HIDING SOMETHING' ABOUT ITS CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE, DEMANDS AN ANSWER FROM TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The Chinese government has suggested that President Donald Trump's administration might be hiding something about its response to the coronavirus crisis, as both Washington, D.C. and Beijing trade accusations and disinformation while the pandemic continues to spread.

The Chinese foreign ministry sent a tweet on Monday suggesting there were "growing doubts over the US government's handling of the #COVID19."

"When did the first infection occur in the US?" the foreign ministry asked. "Is the US government hiding something? Why they opt to blame others? American people and the international community need an answer from the US government."

The foreign ministry did not elaborate on the assertions. A State Department spokesperson told Newsweek that the president and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "regularly answer questions about the U.S. government's handling of the COVID crisis."