North Korean women smile in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released on Jan. 9 by Echo of Unification. Yonhap

Female roles clearly expanding in regime under young leader

By Jung Min-ho

Despite its awful track record of human rights violations, North Korea is making progress in one area: women's rights.

According to the White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2022, published last month, gross and systematic violations of human rights are still rampant under leader Kim Jong-un. For example, religious practices and watching South Korean TV shows are among many "offenses" subject to capital punishment in a state where torture is still common and fair trials are virtually nonexistent.

Yet, there has been a silver lining to the extremely dark cloud, as North Korea is stepping up efforts to fight many forms of discrimination against women. According to Yee Ji-sun, a member of the research team behind the report, there are more female officials in high- and entry-level government positions, including judges and party secretaries, and they will ― if they aren't already ― help change traditional perceptions of gender roles.

"Our study shows that North Korea has been promoting the policy of hiring more women for government posts. According to some North Korean defectors we interviewed, there is even an additional point system, in which female candidates are preferred over equally qualified men," Yee said in a recent interview with The Korea Times. "Under the young leader, more female leaders, such as his wife Ri Sol-ju and Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, have appeared frequently in the media. I believe it will have a big impact on how ordinary people think of women's roles as they present role models. It is positive news for women's rights."

North Korean escapees who recently settled down in South Korea told the researchers that women's social status has been elevated in recent years, with some saying women "can do anything men can" and they have a greater say at home, although some jobs such as drivers are still less open to women.

About a year ago, North Korea adopted a new anti-violence law, which Yee says is its first one that aims to protect women from domestic violence.

"Although the actual effect of the law remains to be seen and studied, it is encouraging that North Korea now has a legal basis that not only prohibits such violence but also requires officials to handle the cases," she said.

It is unclear what motivates the regime to make such progress. Yee believes it is part of the North's efforts to promote itself as a normal state.

"For decades, North Korea has been under international pressure to improve its human rights situation. For the North, raising women's rights is one of the few areas where it can make progress without spending much money," she said. "It appears to respond to such international calls. If North Korea shows signs of resuming talks with South Korea, it could be an area in which the two could work together."

Some analysts such as Cheong Seong-chang, a senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute think tank, believe that the policy of promoting women's social roles could be related to Kim's succession plans as his daughter, Ju-ae, is widely suspected to be his heir apparent. Ju-ae, who was described Kim's "most beloved child" by the North Korean media, has been making public appearances lately with her father while inspecting military facilities, which has fueled speculation over who is next in the line of succession. Intelligence reports show that Kim and Ri Sol-ju have three children, who were born in 2010, 2013 and 2017 respectively. The first child is believed to be a son, and it is unknown if the third one is a boy or a girl.