Recently, Kim Jong Un, the supreme leader of North Korea, recently appeared with his daughter during the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, which analysts claim is a strong indicator of his “dynastic vision” for North Korea.
On Saturday, for the first time ever, KCNA reported that the leader, “together with his beloved daughter and wife”, oversaw the launch. Before this, the state media had never even mentioned Kim’s children and the regime hasn’t confirmed their existence.
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Cheong Seong-chang of the Center for North Korea Studies at the Sejong Institute in South Korea told AFP that the daughter seen in the photos is most likely Ju Ae, Kim’s second kid and the equivalent of a North Korean “princess.”
He added that now that her name has been made public, she probably will be allowed to take an active role in government matters and that her presence with Kim would even suggest that she is his chosen successor.
Analyst Soo Kim says that at a time when the North is launching a much higher number of missiles than ever, this could serve as “a symbolic picture of Kim passing the sceptre of rule to the next generation.”
This she believes sends “a message to the international community to accept and brace for North Korea’s fourth iteration of terror and belligerence”.
According to North Korean studies expert Ahn Chan-il, the images could potentially be a part of Pyongyang’s meticulously staged effort to portray Kim as a “normal” leader. Ankit Panda, a security expert based in the US, tweeted that it is the “most messed up bring-your-kid-to-work day.”
Seoul’s spy agency reports indicate that Kim and his wife Ri Sol Ju have three children. The couple who got married in 2009 reportedly had children in 2010, 2013, and 2017.
The only previous evidence of the children’s existence as per AFP came from former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who took a “quixotic” trip to the North in 2013 and claimed he had met a baby daughter of Kim named Ju Ae.
(With inputs from agencies)
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