The Guardian Weekly

North Korea The meaning of Kim’s daughter

By Justin McCurry TOKYO JUSTIN MCCURRY IS THE GUARDIAN’S TOKYO CORRESPONDENT

Kim Jong-un has said North Korea intends to have the world’s most powerful nuclear force, as the leader was again last weekend pictured with his daughter while inspecting troops and an intercontinental ballistic missile. North Korea’s “ultimate goal is to possess the world’s most powerful strategic force, the absolute force unprecedented in the century”, Kim said in an order promoting dozens of military officers involved in the launch last month of a new ballistic missile, state media reported.

He described the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launched on 18 November as the “world’s strongest strategic weapon” and said it demonstrated North Korea’s resolve and ability to eventually build the world’s strongest army, which would protect the dignity and sovereignty of the state and the people.

Kim was also shown accompanied on a military review by his daughter, whose existence had never been publicly confirmed before the missile test. Ju Ae is estimated to be about 12 or 13 years of age, which means that in about four or five years she will be preparing to attend university or go into military service, said Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the Stimson Centre in Washington.

State media news agency KCNA described her as Kim’s “most beloved” or “precious” child, a more honorific title than her previous description of Kim’s “beloved” child on its dispatch the previous week.

South Korean intelligence officials had earlier identified her as Ju Ae, who was first mentioned by the former American basketball player Dennis Rodman after he visited the Kim family in 2013. Ju Ae is rumoured to be the second of three children – including a boy and another girl.

She was seen holding her father’s hand, and accompanied by her mother, Ri Sol-ju, as the ICBM left its launch site. Everything about her public debut was carefully choreographed.

State media said her appearance – the first official confirmation that Kim has children – underlined that the regime’s nuclear deterrent was intended to “protect our children” from a US attack, describing its stockpile as “monuments to be passed down to our descendants for generations”.

But the state media’s focus on symbolism did little to dampen speculation that Kim, who is in his late 30s and has battled poor health, is beginning to think about his successor. Some analysts, however, believe the chances of North Korean political elites accepting a woman as leader are remote.

“It is unlikely that any of the Kim clan’s female members will be enthroned to rule North Korea,” said Leonid Petrov, a North Korea expert at the International College of Management in Sydney. If that were to happen, Petrov added, the most likely successor would be Kim’s influential sister, Kim Yo-jong.

“Kim Jong-un is still relatively young, so to project his image as a caring father and benevolent ruler, he took his little daughter for a photo opportunity at the ICBM launch site,” said Petrov.

Ju Ae’s surprise outing should be seen as a demonstration of the stability and continuity that underpins the Kim dynasty, according to Soo Kim, a former CIA analyst now with the Rand Corporation, who said Kim may have more than one son.

Barring a sudden health problem, Kim has ample time to decide the identity of leadership candidates who share the family’s mythical Mount Paektu lineage. He has already promoted his sister to senior positions in the regime and appointed Choe Son-hui as North Korea’s first female foreign minister.

Above all, Kim wanted to send a message that a nuclear-armed North Korea is here to stay, according to Soo Kim.

Some analysts believe the political elites are unlikely to accept a woman as leader

Heir transplant Kim Jong-un’s own rise to power demonstrated that the regime can be flexible when it comes to selecting an heir apparent. Kim Jong-nam, Kim Jong-il’s eldest son, fell out of favour in 2001 when he was arrested for attempting to enter Japan on a forged passport. He was assassinated in 2017, allegedly on Kim Jong-un’s orders. Kim Jongil’s second son, Kim Jong-chol, was reportedly considered too “effeminate” for a leadership role.

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2022-12-02T08:00:00.0000000Z

2022-12-02T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://theguardianweekly.pressreader.com/article/282041921147800

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