Why has Choe Ryong Hae been so frequently absent in the first two months of 2014?

Vice Marshall Choe, long one of Kim Jong Un’s top officials, has made very few public appearances since the start of the new year, and the frequency of those appearances continues to decline. The absence of Choe, whom many believe to be the new second-in-command of North Korea after the ouster of Jang Song Taek, does not necessarily mean he is gone or even demoted, but certainly does seem unusual.