North Korea’s Kim showed audience his children
2022.11.18 18:20
North Korea’s Kim showed audience his children
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – In striking photographs taken the day before, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un revealed his daughter to the world for the first time. The images show the pair inspecting the launch of the country’s largest ballistic missile together.
State news agency KCNA reported on Saturday that North Korea conducted a test firing of an Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday.
The presence of Kim’s daughter, whose existence had never been publicly confirmed before, was the biggest surprise.
The girl, who is depicted in photographs wearing a white puffy coat and holding hands with her father as they examine the enormous missile, was not identified by the KCNA.
Michael Madden, a Stimson Center expert on North Korea’s leadership, said, “This is the first observed occasion where we have seen Kim Jong Un’s daughter at a public event.” The Stimson Center is based in the United States. “He would bring her out in public in such a manner is highly significant and represents a certain degree of comfort on Kim Jong Un’s part.”
Experts stated that Kim may have three children, two boys and two girls. One of those children, according to some observers, was captured in September celebrations of a national holiday.
Dennis Rodman, a former American basketball player, claimed in 2013 that Kim had a daughter named Ju Ae. Rodman told The Guardian newspaper that he had spent time with Kim and his family that year and held the baby.
According to Madden, Ju Ae is thought to be between the ages of 12 and 13, which indicates that within the next four to five years, she will either be preparing to enter the military or attend college.
He said, “This would indicate that she will be educated and trained to go into leadership — it could be preparing for her to assume the central leader’s position or she could become an adviser and behind-the-scenes player like her aunt.” This would indicate that she will be educated and trained to go into leadership.
North Korea has never declared who might follow Kim in the occasion he is debilitated, and with few subtleties had some significant awareness of his small kids, examiners had guessed that his sister and supporters could shape a regime until a replacement is mature enough to dominate.
Madden added that the presence of the leader’s daughter at this event may indicate fourth-generation hereditary succession and that core North Korean elites should prepare for that possibility.
He stated, “Her presence is for an elite audience.”
According to KCNA, Kim’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, also made a rare appearance at the launch on Friday.
“Strategic messaging is involved whenever Ri Sol Ju appears. “Usually designed to ease tensions, counter other aggressive messaging (like tests), or demonstrate Kim family unity during internal conflicts,” stated Ken Gause, a North Korea leadership expert with CNA, a non-profit research organization based in the United States.
Gause added that Kim’s “normalization” of regime politics and the dynamics surrounding his position as supreme leader is also reflected in her presence.
