PYONGYANG: North Korean media has frequently reported on the daughter of Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, attending events alongside her father.
South Korean intelligence agencies are increasingly viewing his daughter, known as Kim Ju Ae, as a potential successor.
Could her appearance be a prelude to North Korea being led by a woman?
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) reported to the National Assembly in February that she has entered the stage of being designated as successor.
Her profile has been raised at military-related events, and there have been confirmed instances where she directly expressed her opinions on certain policies while accompanying Kim Jong Un on inspection tours.
The NIS also presented its view to the National Assembly in April that it seems reasonable to consider her as the successor.
The daughter has recently been seen riding in a tank and firing a gun, emphasising her “military prowess.” Analysts suggest this is also intended to alleviate doubts regarding a female successor.
Kim Jong-un’s daughter first appeared during the launch of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-17 in November 2022.
Official reports have not disclosed her name or age, referring to her as “the daughter of General Secretary Kim Jong-un,” “beloved child” or “respected child.”
Bloodline of Mt. Paektu
There is a widespread belief that North Korea’s supreme leader must be a descendant of Kim Il Sung, a member of the “Bloodline of Mt. Paektu.”
North Korea added the provision in 2013 that “the lifeline of the Party and the revolution must be eternally inherited by the bloodline of Mt. Paektu” to the “Ten Principles for the Establishment of the One-Ideology System,” the supreme principles that supersede the Constitution and Party Rules.
Kim Il Sung likely decided on hereditary succession after observing the history of contemporary dictators such as Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union and Mao Zedong of China, who could not escape criticism from their successors.
Having passed from the Joseon dynasty through Japanese rule and Soviet occupation to its founding, North Korea saw the dictatorship of the Kim dynasty take root without any experience of democracy.
Skeptical views
However, there remain doubts about viewing the daughter as a successor at this stage.
Firstly, both father and daughter are too young.
The first person who revealed the existence and name of the daughter was Dennis Rodman, a former NBA star and friend of Kim Jong-un.
When he visited North Korea in September 2013 and met with Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol Ju, he told the British newspaper The Guardian that he held their baby, Ju Ae. She is currently believed to be 12 or 13 years old. Kim Jong-un is 42.
The succession of power from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il was decided at the Party’s Central Committee meeting on Feb. 13, 1974.
They were 61 and 31 years old respectively at that time. When Kim Jong-un was unveiled as Kim Jong Il’s de facto successor at the Party Representatives’ Conference on Sept. 28, 2010, they were 68 and 26 years old respectively.
It does not appear that Kim Jong-un’s health has deteriorated to the point where he must rush to designate a successor.
Above all, in North Korea’s patriarchal society, there is a deeply held view that a woman cannot become an absolute leader.
Nam Sung Wook, a distinguished professor at Sookmyung Women’s University in South Korea, views the decision to bring his daughter into the spotlight as a strategy to project a softer image and convey the impression of a normal state.
Indeed, since the Kim Jong-un administration took power, women have been prominent figures, including Kim Yo Jong, his sister and director of the Party’s General Affairs Department; Ri Sol Ju, his wife; Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui; and Hyon Song Wol, who serves as the director of the orchestra personally endorsed by Kim Jong-un.
There are also reports that Kim Jong-un has a son. Nam speculates that the son is believed to be around 10 years old and is likely to appear on the public stage as a successor in seven to eight years.
If the succession of power fails, North Korea will inevitably collapse from within.
A male defector who fled from North Korea to South Korea said: “Domestic violence by the head of the household is common in North Korea, and Confucian-style patriarchal ideas remain deeply ingrained. North Korean residents are likely to resent the idea of a daughter taking power.” - The Yomiuri Shimbun
