The unusual award of a top medal for bravery to a North Korean traffic policewoman has fuelled speculation that she might have intervened in an incident that had threatened the life of leader Kim Jong-Un.
Some South Korean media reports today suggested the policewoman, Ri Kyong-Sim, had rescued Kim from a traffic accident, while others even speculated about a possible assassination attempt.
The initial announcement that Ri had been given the coveted "Hero of the Republic" award was made in a brief dispatch on May 5 by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Ri had "displayed the heroic self-sacrificing spirit of safeguarding the security of the headquarters of the revolution in an unexpected circumstance", KCNA said without elaborating.
The phrase "headquarters of the revolution" is often used to refer to the country's supreme leadership in the person of Kim Jong-Un.
The "Hero of the Republic" award is usually reserved for heroic acts during wartime, although it is also given to individuals who have made a major contribution to the country's advancement.
Recently, a large number were given to scientists and technicians involved in the North's long-range rocket launch in December and February's nuclear test.
But Park Kun-Ha, secretary general of NK Intellectuals Solidarity, a North Korean defector group, said it was "very rare" for such a prestigious award to be handed out to a low-level functionary.
"I suspect it might have been linked to an assassination attempt disguised as a traffic accident," Park told AFP.
Speculation that Kim Jong-Un was involved in some way was fuelled by hints in state media reports that followed the initial KCNA announcement.
"Comrade Ri's action was not made possible by pure accident, but made possible because she had always harboured this longing for the respected leader day and night," her superior officer told state TV in an interview.
