Kim Jong Un's disappearance from the public's eye for over a month has prompted observers to speculate that the dictator has been ousted and that a coup has started in the country.

According to news reports, analysts and experts speculate that the dictator has either fallen ill or is under house arrest. Rumors have been spreading for weeks and were fueled even more when three of the top North Korean leaders flew to South Korea on Saturday for the closing of the Asian Games.

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When asked about the health problems of the dictator, the leaders dismissed the claims and said there were no problems.

According to analyst Michael Green of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the fact that the leaders were able to travel out of North Korea, it already signifies that there was a shift in power because North Korea has strict regulations as to who enters and leaves the country.

Another analyst, Gordon G. Chang, said that it is highly plausible that there is indeed a coup as it has been reported last week that a travel ban was imposed in North Korea making it all the more suspicious how the three top Korean leaders flew to the South.

Also, professor Remco Breuker of the Korean Studies program at Leiden University in the Netherlands said they are not sure where the dictator is or what his happening. He said that whoever is in charge, North Korea's system is still the same.

This has been backed up by the Korean defector and poet Jang Jin-Sung. Jang noted that Kim was just a puppet and that the coup actually started on December 2013. He said that the people in power now are those behind the group called "Organization and Guidance Department" (OGD).

Other speculations raised the possibility of Kim just being ill as Jonathan Pollack, who specialized in East Asian issues from the Brookings Institution, said that the Kims have a history of diabetes and the recent weight gain of Kim as well as his love for Coke and French fries might have made matters worse for him.

The dictator was last seen limping during the program for the death anniversary of his father, Kim Jong Il. Aside from that, other events and functions where the leader is needed, his wife, Ri Sol-ju, or his younger siter, Kim Yo Jong, has been taking his position to stop speculations from further spreading.

Tagspolitics, Kim Jong Il, Korea, government, coup