North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae inspect a KN-23 factory at an unspecified location in North Korea, in this photo released on the first day of 2023. Yonhap

Women's roles are expected to expand in North Korean politics, expert says

By Jung Min-ho

Every move means something in politics. It is particularly so for Kim Jong-un, the supreme ruler of North Korea, where everything he does or says is carefully choreographed.

In the photos released on the first day of 2023, Kim can be seen inspecting the facilities for missiles believed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads ― the Hwasong-12 and KN-23 ― while holding the hand of his daughter, Ju-ae.

This move leaves little doubt over who is next in the line, as the pictures symbolically show North Korea's future, according to Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst on North Korea at the think tank, the Sejong Institute.

That future is the one where the North will continue to develop nuclear weapons and, at some point, Ju-ae, who has previously been described as Kim's "most beloved" child, will receive the baton to carry on the mission, Cheong told The Korea Times Tuesday.

"The pictures can be interpreted as the public message that Kim Ju-ae is the heir apparent," he said. "At this stage, she is receiving training. Once officially appointed, she would rule the North with Kim and be given access to the nuclear button … Kim appears to have started to share information over the control of future strategic assets such as nuclear weapons and missiles."

Cheong said it is "no coincidence" that Kim toured the weapons factories with his daughter following his speech calling for an "exponential increase" in nuclear weapons against Seoul and Washington at a major party event for the review of 2022.

Intelligence reports show that Kim and Ri Sol-ju have three children, who were born in 2010, 2013 and 2017 respectively. The first one is believed to be a son, it is unknown if the third child is a boy or a girl.

However, not everyone shares his view that Ju-ae will eventually take over North Korea. Experts such as Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, cast doubt on the scenario because Kim, 38, and Ju-ae, 9, are still young and the traditional ideas ― of seniority and the predominance of men ― are deeply embedded in its society. They say Kim took Ju-ae to the factories to convey the message that the weapons developed on his watch will keep the future generation safe and that Ju-ae just symbolizes that generation.

To understand who may become its next leader, Cheong said it is important to keep in mind that Kim was not the oldest ― not even the second oldest ― son of the late Kim Jong-il.

"I heard from Kim Jong-un's aunt, Ko Yong-suk, and her husband, Ri Gang, in March 2021 that Kim Jong-il had decided to appoint him as his successor on Jan. 8, 1992, his eighth birthday … His older brother, Kim Jong-chul, was excluded because he was too meek," Cheong said. "Kim Jong-un himself was not the eldest son, but he became the leader, so why would he have reason to adhere to such a rule?"

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un smiles as he poses with children representing the Korean Children's Union at an unspecified location in North Korea, in this photo released Monday. Yonhap

According to "White Paper on Human Rights in North Korea 2022," published last month by the Korea Institute for National Unification, a think tank, women in North Korea have increasingly played important roles over the past several years.

Ri Hye-jong, new head of the Party History Institute

There are more female judges, military officers, high-level party officials and politicians, with some North Korean defectors saying that the regime is promoting the policy of hiring more women as senior officials recently.

On New Year's Day, the ruling party announced that Ri Hye-jong will head the Party History Institute, one of its key bodies. Under young leader Kim Yo-jong, the first vice director of its propaganda department, Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui and Hyon Song-wol, leader of both the Moranbong Band and the Samjiyon Orchestra, have been promoted and have played vital roles in North Korean politics.

"Unlike his father, Kim Jong-un, who spent his teenage years in Switzerland and does not have a strong belief in 'Namjonyeobi' (the notion that men should be preferred or respected over women in terms of status or rights)," Cheong said. "If Kim Ju-ae is to become the next leader, which seems very likely, I think we will see more women playing bigger roles in North Korean politics in the future."