At the party congress, where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un once again threatened Seoul and confirmed his intentions to continue the nuclear weapons program, a question arose about whether his 13-year-old daughter would become the heir. This was reported by the BBC.
No confirmations of this information have emerged this week.
Nevertheless, it has sparked a discussion about the prospects of young Kim Ju Ae as a potential leader of the country with a population of 25 million, which has been ruled for decades only by members of the Kim family.
Party congresses, which take place every five years, are key events for studying the message sent by Kim Jong Un to Seoul and Washington.
However, this time the focus has shifted. Last week, South Korean intelligence reported that, according to its data, Kim Jong Un has chosen his daughter as his heir, and that she has been seen expressing her opinions on political issues.
Although she is increasingly appearing in state media alongside her father, very little is known about her. North Korea has never disclosed her name or age.
Her existence was first mentioned when basketball player Dennis Rodman mentioned her name in an interview with The Guardian after his visit to Pyongyang in 2013. She is believed to be 13 years old, based on estimates derived from intelligence data.
Earlier, South Korean intelligence claimed that she has an older brother, but this information was later denied.
“It was an intelligence failure,” comments Chung Sung-chang, a North Korea expert and vice president of the Sejong Institute, who was one of the first to suggest that Ju Ae would become the heir.
Chung and other analysts are now confident that Ju Ae is the eldest child and that she has a nine-year-old sister.
She first appeared on television in 2022, holding her father's hand during a tour of the latest North Korean missile.
Chung believes that her frequent appearances on television, as well as her use in state media of the title "respected child," are clear indications that she is becoming the official heir.
“State media uses terms that are usually reserved for the supreme leader, highlighting the growing cult of her personality,” he adds.
Another indicator is her closeness to the military. She has observed troops and weaponry alongside her father, and high-ranking generals have bowed to her and whispered something while she sat with her father at military parades.
Kim Jong Un's control over the army is the foundation of his power, explains Chung. If Ju Ae becomes the heir, she will need to establish herself as an authoritative military leader.
When inspecting troops, she wears the same long black leather coat and dark glasses as her father.
Kim Jong Un came to power quite suddenly, just a year before his father's death. Chung believes that Kim wants to avoid a similarly rapid transition of power by introducing Ju Ae to the public at an early stage.
There is no confirmation that Kim Jong Un suffers from serious health problems, except for mentions of his weight, smoking, and alcohol.
Nevertheless, according to Chung, Kim is likely eager to appoint a successor early to avoid a potential succession crisis.
However, former North Korean official Ryu Hyun-woo believes that the likelihood of a woman ruling the country is extremely low.
Ryu, who fled North Korea in 2019 and worked as a diplomat, notes that the North Korean legal code, created by the Kim family, requires that the country be governed by a man from the Paektu lineage — that is, a direct descendant of the country's founder Kim Il-sung.
Although Ju Ae belongs to this bloodline, the patriarchal system of North Korea would not recognize her as a legitimate heir, claims Ryu.
Women at all levels of power in North Korea continue to face equality issues. Female officials are rare, and female military leaders are even rarer.
According to Ryu, in Pyongyang, many taxi drivers refuse women if they are their first clients of the day, due to a superstition that it brings bad luck.
“If they manage to take such a woman, they finish the trip and then go to the back of the car and spit three times to ward off misfortune,” he recounts.
For all these reasons, Ryu cannot imagine Ju Ae at the helm of North Korea.
He believes that it would be such a shock that “military commanders might think that now anyone can become the leader of North Korea, and this could lead to thoughts of overthrowing [the leadership].”
According to Ryu, Kim shows his daughter in state media only to soften his tough image and sow ideas about hereditary succession.
However, others, including South Korean intelligence, hold a different opinion.
Firstly, the status of women in North Korea has significantly improved since the so-called "Arduous March" — the famine caused in the 1990s when the country's economy collapsed.
While men continued to perform state-supported work, even with cuts to their wages and food rations, it was women who sought ways to feed their families by starting their own businesses and engaging in smuggling.
Song Hyun-jin, who surveyed more than 120 defectors from North Korea about the role of women in leadership, argues that it is no longer uncommon to see women managing factories and holding high positions in the party.
In recent years, North Korean television programs have started showing men in aprons doing housework, reflecting changes in society.
According to Song, Ju Ae's gender will not be an obstacle if her father decides that she will take his place. Her lineage and upbringing in a poor country are enough for ordinary North Koreans to accept her as a leader.
“We cannot perceive North Korea from our logical standpoint. We must view it as the Joseon dynasty,” says Song, referring to the medieval Korean kingdom. “Who would dare challenge a person of royal blood who has ascended to the throne?”
This week, the party appointed Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong Un's sister, as the Minister of Propaganda. Chung believes this indicates that Kim Jong Un is making his sister a guardian for his daughter.
When Kim Jong Un took over the country at 27 and became the youngest leader in the world, many hoped he would open North Korea to the world.
These hopes quickly dissipated — in 2013, he executed his reformist uncle.
Since then, his nuclear weapons program has significantly expanded, and the regime's strict control over all aspects of life has not weakened.
Chung believes there is no reason to believe that Ju Ae will not continue in the same spirit. He dismisses the suggestion that she could become more open or lenient, believing it is tied to stereotypes about women.
Ryu, whose father-in-law is still in Kim Jong Un's inner circle, says that the discussion about Kim's successor may become an end in itself.
“Kim craves attention much more than you can imagine. He really enjoys all this attention on his persona and discussions about a possible heir.”
The post Will Kim's teenage daughter be the next leader of North Korea? first appeared on K-News.
