(CNN) -- The mystery surrounding North Korea's erratic young leader, Kim Jong Un, only deepens by the day.

He has not been seen publicly in more than a month. Rumors are flying that Kim is ill with gout, diabetes, even possible problems with his ankles. Now, a group of defectors say they believe Kim's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, may be running the country while he recuperates.

The North Korea Intellectuals' Solidarity, a think-tank run by defectors, says Kim Yo Jong may be at least temporarily leading the government. The group has not revealed the source of its information, and CNN cannot independently confirm it. But Kim Yo Jong's star appears to be rising.

Michael Madden, who runs the blog North Korea Leadership Watch, says Kim Yo Jong has been identified in North Korean media as deputy director of the Workers' Party, a very powerful position.

 

Is Kim Jong Un still ruling in N. Korea?

 

Why is Kim Jong Un so camera shy?

Victor Cha, an analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies who previously handled the North Korea account with the National Security Council, says Kim Yo Jong began surfacing publicly earlier this year at party functions.

"Clearly it's an effort to slow-track her into becoming somebody who is important within the system," Cha says. "I can see how it's possible that she's in some sort of temporary position. It's very difficult for the North Korean system to run without one of the Kim family at least titularly in charge. So, if Kim Jong Un is indisposed, she's really the only available body that's left, in terms of a direct Kim family line."

Is Kim Jong Un still in charge of North Korea?

Who is Kim Yo Jong?

Madden says Kim Yo Jong was born in 1987 or 1988, and attended private school in Switzerland with Kim Jong Un. They both stayed at the North Korean embassy while attending the Swiss school, Madden says, and lived there under assumed names.

Madden says Kim Yo Jong is the youngest of seven siblings their father, Kim Jong Il, had with four women. Many of them are half-siblings, but Kim Jong Un and Kim Yo Jong have the same mother.

Madden says Kim Yo Jong was always close to her father, and after returning from Switzerland, she was appointed to positions of responsibility in the government. She would act as an advance-team leader, inspecting sites before official visits, and had administrative duties as well.

Now, he says, she continues those duties and has taken on more responsibility under her brother's rule: dealing with policy and receiving intelligence briefings. She acts "almost like a White House chief-of-staff would," Madden says.

He says he believes she had a large role in planning the recent trip by three top North Korean officials to South Korea while her brother was absent from the scene.

Opinion: Why Kim is probably still in charge

Ready for prime time?

Given her age and that so little is known about Kim Yo Jong, North Korea-watchers are concerned about her being in the top leadership spot, if only temporarily. The stress and palace intrigue inside the North Korean regime, they say, may be overwhelming.

"If in fact she is running the country -- as someone in their early to mid twenties, to me that is quite alarming," Cha says. "It means there is something seriously wrong with Kim Jong Un and there is some sort of void that they're desperately trying to fill."

All eyes will be on a significant event this Friday, October 10. That's the 69th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party. Kim Jong Un attended the anniversary event last year. If he doesn't show up at Friday's ceremonies, concern over his public disappearance will only grow.

If he does attend, intelligence analysts will be looking at his appearance, his body language -- every detail -- very carefully.

是金正云的妹妹金呦鐘說了算？
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在情況室
由布賴恩·托德和杜格爾德麥康奈爾，美國有線電視新聞網
2014年10月8日 - 更新2315 GMT（0715 HKT）

您的視頻將開始瞬間。
新聞提要
朝鮮領導人出公眾視線，妹妹的個人資料增加了
智囊團由叛逃者運行說，她可能會暫時導致政府
金呦鐘是在她二十多歲; 她在瑞士出席私立學校
（CNN） -圍繞朝鮮不穩定的年輕領導者，金正云的奧秘，只加深了一天。
他並沒有被公開在一個多月觀察。傳言飛，金正日是患痛風，糖尿病，甚至可能出現的問題與他的腳踝，現在，一組叛逃者說，他們相信金正日的妹妹金呦鐘，可能是治國，而他調理。
朝鮮知識分子團結，智囊團由叛逃者跑，說金正日呦鐘可至少暫時領導政府。該集團沒有透露其消息來源，而美國有線電視新聞網無法獨立證實。但金正日呦容的明星如日中天。
邁克爾·馬登，誰運行博客朝鮮領導觀看，說金呦鐘已經在朝鮮媒體被認定為勞動黨，一個非常強大的位置，副主任。
是金正云仍然統治在朝鮮？ 為什麼金正云讓相機害羞？
與中心戰略與國際研究誰曾處理北韓帳戶與國家安全委員會的分析師維克多查，說金呦鐘從今年年初開始浮出水面，在公開聚會的功能。
“顯然，這是為了緩慢跟踪她到成為別人誰是系統內重要的”茶說。“我可以看到它是如何有可能是她在某種暫時的位置，這是非常困難的北韓系統不金氏家族之一，至少titularly負責運行。所以，如果金正云略感不適，她真的是剩下的，在直接金傳宗接代方面只提供身體。“
是金正云還負責朝鮮？
誰是金呦鐘？
馬登說，金正日呦鐘出生於1987年或1988年，並出席了在瑞士私立學校與金正云。他們都住在朝鮮大使館在出席瑞士學校，馬登說，和所承擔的名字在那裡生活。
馬登說，金正日呦鐘是最年輕的7個兄弟姐妹的父親金正日，曾與四個女人。他們中許多人都是半兄弟姐妹，但金正云和金正日呦鐘有相同的母親。
馬登說，金正日呦鐘總是接近她的父親，並從瑞士回國後，她被任命為在政府擔任重要職務。她將作為一個提前小組組長，檢查正式訪問網站之前，並有行政職務。
現在，他說，她將繼續履行這些義務，並採取了下她哥哥的統治更多的責任：處理政策和接收情報簡報。她的行為“簡直就像是白宮辦公廳主任，工作人員的會，”麥登說。
他說，他相信她已經在規劃了很大的作用最近訪問了三位頂級北韓官員到韓國，而她的哥哥從現場消失。
觀點：為什麼金正日很可能還是負責
準備好黃金時間？
考慮到她的年齡和這麼知之甚少金呦鐘，朝鮮觀察家都在關注她的最高領導當場為，如果只是暫時的。朝鮮政權內部的應力和宮廷陰謀，他們說，可能是壓倒性的。
“事實上，如果她是治國 - 有人在他們的早二十多歲中期，對我來說那是相當驚人的，”查說。“這意味著有一些嚴重錯誤金正云，並有一些空隙，他們正在拼命地填補。”
所有的目光都將在本星期五，10月10日這是執政的勞動黨成立69週年，是一個顯著事件。金正云參加了去年的週年紀念活動。如果他沒有在週五的儀式表現出來，關注他的公眾消失只會越來越大。
如果他不參加，情報分析員會看著他的樣子，他的肢體語言 - 每一個細節 - 非常謹慎。