Kim Jong Un aide Ri Il-hwan disappears from public view for over a month

Ri Ilhwan, the Secretary of the Workers' Party Central Committee and head of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, who is known as one of Kim Jongun's closest aides, has not appeared in public for more than a month, drawing attention to the background. The last confirmed appearance was at last month's 23rd plenary meeting of the Workers' Party and a Politburo meeting. Secretary Ri is a key figure who oversees North Korea's ideology and propaganda work, and has accompanied Chairman Kim several times this year. In particular, he did not appear at the Victory Day events, leading to speculation that he may have had health issues, may be undergoing cadre reeducation, or may be involved in some other internal matter. Some have raised the possibility that it may be linked to the case involving former Vice Director of the Organization Department of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People's Army, Park Heecheol, but experts believe the likelihood of a purge is low, given that Secretary Ri is a 핵심 측근 of the Kim Jongun regime. However, because of North Korea's nature, it is difficult to determine the exact reason based solely on his lack of public activities, according to analysis.