KIM Jong-un wants to step aside and retire early – so he’s grooming his teenage daughter to rule as leader of North Korea.
Or so experts believe, after analysing hidden clues in Pyongyang propaganda, and comparing her public profile to that of past successors.
ReutersNorth Korean leader Kim Jong-un, his wife Ri Sol-Ju and their daughter Kim Ju-ae[/caption]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Kim Ju-ae in WonsanReuters
Kim Jong-un is said to be ‘caught in a vicious circle of stress-induced heavy drinking, nicotine dependence, and worsening insomnia’AFP
Kim Jong-un was only named as heir shortly before his father’s death, and the fledgling tyrant spent much of his early reign asserting his authority in brutal fashion.
So, with his own health increasingly in question, it’s thought the dictator wants to avoid more bloodshed by elevating his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, early.
Michael Madden, an expert on the country’s elite, said: “Kim Jong-un is going early on a succession mechanism, it is true.
“His own succession was done somewhat on-the-fly and he had a rough and tumble time when he assumed office.
“So he certainly doesn’t want his successor having to endure that.
“Long story short, he doesn’t want his daughter to be in a position where she sends her aunt, Kim Yo-jong, to the firing squad like he did with his uncle, Jang Song-thaek.”
In a new paper about Kim Ju-ae’s rise, the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) argues that Kim Jong-un’s health may be a factor.
The author cites intelligence that Kim is “plagued by unhealthy lifestyle habits” and “caught in a vicious circle of stress-induced heavy drinking, nicotine dependence, and worsening insomnia”.
The paper suggests: “Concerns over Kim Jong-un’s health prompted efforts to… eventually, introduce Kim Ju-ae as a potential successor.”
It cites the testimony of psychologist Ian Robertson, of Trinity College in Dublin, who said that “fear of death may be a driving factor” behind the daughter’s elevation.
“Narcissistic dictators often see themselves as immortal,” the paper states.
“As death nears, that illusion cracks – but by installing a dynastic successor, they project their legacy forward.”
Some have even suggested that the transfer of power is “imminent”.
The Sand Times, a South Korea-based news outlet, noted that the term “Party Central” had been used 34 times in a recent Pyongyang propaganda piece.
It’s a term that’s been used twice already to refer to future leaders – in 2010 for Kim Jong-un and in the 1970s for his father, Kim Jong-il.
“This is a symbolic term used in North Korea to refer to the supreme leader or successor,” the article warns.
“Historically, North Korea has persistently used the phrase ‘Party Central’ to brainwash its citizens when the succession of the supreme leader is imminent.”
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un inspecting a military vehicle production plant with his daughter, Kim Ju-aeAFP
Kim Jong-un and his daughter visit the Kwangchon Chicken Farm near PyongyangReuters
Kim and his daughter visit the newly built Kalma coastal tourist area in WonsanReuters
The HRNK paper found further clues suggesting a future leadership role.
Three months after Kim Ju-ae made her public debut, the author noted, regime propaganda was describing her as her father’s “most beloved child”.
She’s also been called “respected” and “revered” – two titles “previously reserved for top leadership figures”.
The paper highlighted subtler hints within the North Korean media too.
For example, some propaganda photos show Kim Ju-ae in front of her father – normal to western eyes, but “extraordinary” in North Korea, “where the leader is never visually subordinated”.
The daughter’s dress sense has also transformed over the course of her public appearances, going from white clothes to “consistently darker tones”.
Fashion consultant Lauren Rothman said it was a “wardrobe that communicates inherited power” and contrasted it with the bright clothing worn by her mother, first lady Ri Sol-ju.
Perhaps most striking is the child’s place on the world stage.
As well as meeting Alexander Matsegora, Russian ambassador to North Korea, Kim Ju-ae recently accompanied her father on her first foreign visit to China.
“These rare diplomatic outings suggest Ju-ae’s grooming as a future leader is underway,” according to the HRNK paper.
“Experts believe she is too young for a formal title, but that internal succession training has already begun.”
Mr Madden, a fellow of the Stimson Center in Washington DC, believes the regime is planning for a period of joint-rule after which Kim Jong-un will retire.
The process has precedent.
Kim Jong-un’s dad was named as successor by his father, Kim Il-sung, in 1980.
APKim and his daughter pictured in 2023[/caption]
The older Kim then gradually and reluctantly ceded power, until by the time of his death in 1994, he was leader in name only.
Mr Madden said: “I suspect that whatever skeletal succession planning is under way has probably mapped out a Kim Jong-un retirement scenario.
“One thing that Kim Jong-un’s father had, which he did not, was a lengthy co-leadership period.
“Co-leadership refers to a dynamic whereby a leader-in-waiting takes on special projects and works under the direct supervision of the leader.”
Mr Madden, the founder of North Korea Leadership Watch, says the first thing to watch out for is a rise in public appearances for the daughter, who’s thought to be 12 or 13 years old.
And while he doesn’t agree that succession is imminent, he believes change is coming within 10 years.
He said: “It is highly probable that Ju-ae would be in a formal position in the regime in ten years.
“Her aunt Kim Yo-jong started working for Kim Jong-il when she was 21, Kim Jong-il began working in the Central Committee when he was 23, and Kim Jong-un was leader at 27.”
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One Seoul lawmaker has voiced doubts that Kim Ju-ae is first in line to succeed her father – and believes the tyrant has another heir in mind.
Representative Park Jie-won of the Democratic Party told YTN radio that he does “not see her” as the next North Korean Supreme Leader.
“The scene-stealer at the Chinese military parade was Kim Jong Un’s daughter Ju Ae,” he said. “Is she a suitable candidate for leadership?”
He noted that she “did not appear at official events such as military parades or banquets”.
Park went on to put forward his own theory about the Kim dynasty’s likely succession plans.
“Most people in the West, especially in our country, assume that Kim Ju Ae will be Kim Jong Un’s successor, but I don’t think so,” he said.
“In a socialist country or feudal society, there has never been a case where a daughter became the successor or a woman became the head of state.”
Park pointed to Kim Jong Un’s early life before power, during which time he had studied at a prestigious school in Switzerland.
The dictator’s sister and close confidante Kim Yo-Jong is also believed to have gone to school in the West.
“Kim Jong Un and Kim Yo-Jong were studying abroad in Switzerland when they were Kim Ju-ae’s age, but no one knew about it,” Park added.
He speculated that Kim’s son “is probably studying abroad somewhere in the Western world right now”.
Park claimed the regime is likely putting Ju-ae into the spotlight “to cover this up”.