According to Yonhap News, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un showed his daughter in public for the first time. The politician, along with his daughter, wife Ri Sol-ju, and sister Kim Yo-jong, conducted the Hwaseong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile test. The photos were published by the Korea Central News Agency.
The state agency noted that Kim Jong-un came to the strategic weapons testing area “to personally manage the process with his beloved daughter and wife.”
Four photos taken by the agency show a school-age girl holding Kim Jong-un’s hand as they wander around the new military equipment together. The name of the schoolgirl was not specified, for the first time she appeared in photos of the state media. His name was given by the South Korean media – this is nine-year-old Kim Joo-ae.
“This demonstrates the trust in family lineage and the success of missile testing, and also highlights the importance of ensuring national security,” said Yang Mu-jin, head of the University of North Korean Studies.
Soo Kim, an expert at the Rand Corporation think tank and former Central Intelligence Agency, said that the fourth generation of Kim Jong Un’s family that has ruled the country since its founding only exists, but “has promising prospects.
North Korea has never confirmed the existence of Kim Jong-un’s children. According to South Korean intelligence, Kim Jong-un got married in 2009 and the couple had children in 2010, 2013 and 2017.
American basketball player Dennis Rodman, who visited North Korea in 2013, spoke about Kim Jong-un’s “little daughter” named Zhu E. “I held their baby Zhu E in my arms and talked to Ms. Ri,” the athlete told CNN reporters after the tour. .
“An exemplary family man”
South Korea Kunming University professor Andrei Lankov said in an interview with socialbites.ca that Kim Jong-un, who came to power, introduced his wife to the public only a few months later.
“Perhaps the fact that he spent his teenage years in Europe and saw how royal families were treated there plays a big part. As you know, in most countries of the world, the royal family lives in front of the public, a public demonstration that does not disturb anyone and partly amuses people and partly strengthens their sense of pride. country, ”explained the expert.
According to Lankov, the couple lives in “rare love and harmony” and Kim treats her children very well and is “an exemplary family man”.
“Although he is a good father in his own right, he contrasts to some extent with his father, who was a terrible playboy. He did not abandon his many children from numerous connections, but at the same time he was not particularly interested in their upbringing. And Kim Jong-un is engaged, ”said the expert.
The expert pointed out that Kim Jong-un broke the old traditions that his father and grandfather were attached to. According to him, it took 15 years for the North Korean press to “talk in passing” that Kim Il Sung had a wife.
According to the Korean, the daughter of the head of the DPRK was interested in watching the launch of the rocket. “Children love airplanes, rockets, locomotives. Why do not you show? Besides, she’s a princess after all. Why shouldn’t the princess watch the joust?” She suggested.
Lankov did not rule out the possibility that Kim Jong-un would hand over the reins of government in a democratic republic to his daughter, not to his son.
“Surprisingly free from the patriarchal prejudices that were characteristic of his ancestors. Still, I won’t draw too deep conclusions from the girl’s appearance at the launch. The expert noted that there are many princes and princesses in the Kim family.
According to him, the transfer of power is not years, but decades, and more children may appear in the Kim family.
“I think he just wanted to show off. He took his wife in past launches. I do not even ignore the fact that my daughter said to him, “Daddy, I want to see how the rocket flies.” My dear daughter will ask – why don’t you show it, ”Lankov finished.
possible heir
The Kim family suffered from World War II, when the Soviet Union and the United States shared control of the Korean Peninsula. He ruled North Korea for three generations since the establishment of the republic after World War II.
Kim Jong Un came to power after his father’s death in 2011. Two years later, he executed his uncle Jang Song-taek for treason.
according to analysts BloombergOf all the family members who could eventually take over power, Kim Jong-un’s sister seems to be the most likely contender.
Kim Yo-jung has spent nearly a decade in government, sided with his older brother at summits with former US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, and also represented North Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
“North Korea’s destiny begins and ends with the Kim family,” Rand Corporation analyst Soo Kim said.
However, some political analysts consider it unlikely that a woman will take over Kim Jong-un’s post. “Not only male-dominated leadership, but ordinary people will also resist a female leader,” said Yoo Ho Yeol, who teaches North Korean studies at Korea University.
rocket launch
North Korea, led by Kim Jong-un, launched the Hwaseong-17 ballistic missile on November 18. The launch was directed by Kim Jong-un.
Hwaseong-17, a new type of ICBM launched at Pyongyang International Airport, flew for 4,135 seconds, had a range of 998 km and a maximum altitude of 6,040.9 km.
According to estimates of the Japanese Ministry of Defense, such a missile, when launched along a conventional trajectory, could fly more than 15 thousand km and reach the continental United States.
The rocket was launched the day after the announcement by North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Song-hee. Pyongyang then promised to respond in direct proportion to the strengthening of American deterrence, agreed upon at a trilateral summit in Cambodia by the leaders of the Republic of Korea, the United States and Japan.
“Dear Comrade Kim Jong Un, solemnly declared that if the enemies continue to threaten us by importing nuclear attack weapons too often, then our party and government will resolutely respond to nuclear weapons with nuclear weapons and frontal conflict with frontal conflict.” agency writes CTAC.
The launch of the DPRK rocket on November 18 was the 34th since the beginning of the year and the second in two days. The day before, North Korea launched a projectile into the Sea of Japan.