As North Korea unveils stamps of Kims daughter, South says shes unlikely to be a successor
The corporation described the unnamed girl as Kim’s “beloved daughter” in captions describing the stamps on its website. The series will be released on Friday.
An Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, believes the stamps further cement Ju-ae’s place in the cult of personality surrounding the ruling Kim family, saying they “look like the official start of Kim Ju Ae’s life as her father’s successor”.
But others said it was still too early to say for sure, given that Kim was still in his 30s and the daughter’s name had never been mentioned officially.
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“Throughout North Korean history, whenever it officially named the country’s heir apparent, they made sure people knew the name of the person,” said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
“It’s still very possible that Ju-ae is just being used for [propaganda] … while Kim’s eldest son is being groomed as a successor behind closed doors.”During a parliamentary committee meeting in Seoul, Unification Minister Kwon Young-se, South Korea’s top official on North Korea, questioned a belief that she was being primed as the North’s next leader. Kwon cited Kim Jong-un’s relatively young age – Kim turned 39 last month – and North Korea’s male-dominated power hierarchy.“There are views that [her appearances] are aimed at talking about a hereditary power transition,” Kwon told lawmakers.
“But considering Kim Jong-un’s age and the fact that North Korea has a much more patriarchal nature than ours, there are also lots of questions about whether North Korea having a woman [prepared to] inherit power now is indeed right.”
Kwon said the girl’s repeated appearances in recent months were more likely meant to shore up public support of Kim’s ruling family and prepare for a future hereditary power transfer.
Since its foundation in 1948, North Korea has been successively ruled by male members of the Kim family. Outside studies show only a fraction of top North Korean officials are women, including Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, and Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui.Kith and Kim: is Ju-ae North Korea’s next leader, or just daddy’s little girl?
Before Kim Jong-un took power in late 2011, his father Kim Jong-il governed for 17 years, and before him, his father and state founder, Kim Il-sung, ruled for 46 years.
“It’s too soon to assume that [Kim Ju-ae] will be his heir because the son has always succeeded the throne in North Korea,” said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, DC.
“So, we don’t yet know if Kim Jong-un is willing to break tradition regarding the gender of his successor or if she will play a key role to support whoever Kim appoints.”
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