{"id":448634,"date":"2026-02-27T14:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/448634\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T14:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:36:08","slug":"north-koreas-most-beloved-child-what-the-key-congress-revealed-about-kim-jong-uns-succession-plans-north-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/448634\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea\u2019s \u2018most beloved\u2019 child: what the key congress revealed about Kim Jong-un\u2019s succession plans | North Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"

When North Korea\u2019s ruling party held a top-level meeting this month there were predictable boasts of unstoppable nuclear development and, more unexpectedly, a suggestion by Kim Jong-un<\/a> that his country and the US \u201ccould get along\u201d \u2013 provided that Washington recognised North Korea as a legitimate nuclear power.<\/p>\n

But for many North Korea<\/a> watchers, the Workers\u2019 party congress \u2013 held over several days just once every five years \u2013 was a rare opportunity to speculate over the identity of the country\u2019s future leader.<\/p>\n

The received wisdom is that Kim has already decided that his daughter, Kim Ju-ae<\/a>, will succeed him to become the fourth-generation leader of the dynasty that has ruled the country with an iron fist since it was founded in 1948.<\/p>\n

But dissenting voices have emerged in recent weeks among experts who say that North Korea\u2019s immutable gender politics could yet block Kim Ju-ae\u2019s path to power.<\/p>\n

The North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, touring a new housing district dedicated to the families of fallen soldiers in Pyongyang in February. Photograph: KCNA\/EPA<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most immediate and insurmountable barricade for Kim Ju-ae is the deeply ingrained patriarchal nature of North Korea,\u201d Mitch Shin, who covers the Korean peninsula for the Diplomat, wrote this month<\/a>, adding that North Korea functioned \u201cmore as a Neo-Confucian monarchy\u201d than as a socialist state.<\/p>\n

There is little to suggest that the country\u2019s ranks of ageing generals would accept a woman as \u201csupreme leader\u201d, Shin said. \u201cFor these men, many in their 60s and 70s, the concept of swearing absolute and life-and-death loyalty to a young woman is more than a cultural shift. It is a structural anomaly that threatens the internal logic of the regime.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, Kim may be using his daughter as a \u201chuman shield\u201d for the actual successor, Kim Jong-un\u2019s long-rumoured oldest child. \u201cIn this way, his son can be shielded from the prying eyes of international intelligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other experts, though, argue that the patriarchy permeating North Korean society will always be superseded by the non-negotiable principle that a successor must be a direct-line descendant of the Mount Paektu bloodline<\/a> \u2013 a reference to the sacred North Korean peak used to confer legitimacy on the Kim dynasty.<\/p>\n

Shreyas Reddy, a correspondent for NK News, also cast doubt on the notion that Kim Ju-ae\u2019s future role as leader was fait accompli, describing her prominence as more performative than political. \u201cState media\u2019s portrayal of Kim\u2019s affection toward his daughter aligns with a growing push to depict him as a loving \u2018father\u2019 figure to the entire nation,\u201d Reddy wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kim Jong-un; his daughter, Kim Ju-ae; and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, celebrating the new year at the May Day stadium in Pyongyang. Photograph: KCNA\/EPA<\/p>\n

\u201cFor now, the best course appears to be waiting and watching, rather than declaring North Korea\u2019s next leader before the regime is ready to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the absence of official statements confirming Kim Ju-ae\u2019s status as leader-in-waiting, a consensus has formed about her future based on her public profile and proximity to her father, and even her wardrobe.<\/p>\n

Despite her increased visibility, North Korean state media have never published her name, referring to her only as the leader\u2019s \u201crespected\u201d or \u201cmost beloved\u201d child. There are also disagreements about how to pronounce her given name.<\/p>\n

Much of the momentum behind Kiim Ju-ae\u2019s presumed ascension has come from South Korea\u2019s national intelligence service, which this month claimed<\/a> that Kim Jong-un was close to naming her as the country\u2019s future leader.<\/p>\n

Even if that may one day be the case, for now Kim Ju-ae\u2019s main role is as a daughter, according to Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul. \u201cShe is probably not yet old enough to participate in the congress with an official party title,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

There is nothing about mood music coming from the North to suggest that Kim Jong-un will one day spring a surprise on the world similar to his own rapid rise as leader, said Lee Sung-Yoon, a principal fellow at the Sejong Institute in Seoul.<\/p>\n

Kim Jong-un has \u201calready established beyond a reasonable doubt that he is grooming his teenage daughter as his successor\u201d, Lee said, pointing to Kim Ju-ae\u2019s presence alongside her father at dozens of official events.<\/p>\n

Father and daughter inspect an army training exercise at an undisclosed location. Photograph: KCNA VIA KNS\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

His decision to position his daughter in the centre of the front row on his New Year\u2019s Day visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun<\/a> \u2013 a sacred Kim dynasty mausoleum \u2013 should \u201cremove any doubt\u201d that she was being positioned as heir to her 42-year-old father, Lee said.<\/p>\n

In 2023, South Korean intelligence officials told lawmakers that Kim and his wife also probably have an older son and a younger third child, whose gender is unknown.<\/p>\n

\u201cKim Jong-un has not told any foreign interlocutor that he has a son,\u201d Lee said, adding that the claim had been based on \u201cflimsy intelligence reports\u201d of boys\u2019 toys and nappies being delivered to the Kim family mansion in Pyongyang several years ago.<\/p>\n

Since making her first public appearance, at a long-range missile test in November 2022, Kim Ju-ae has accompanied her father on an increasing number of events, including weapons tests, military parades, factory openings and, last year, on a family visit<\/a> to a coastal resort. She also travelled with her father<\/a> to Beijing last September for his summit with the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping.<\/p>\n

Her prominence triggered speculation that Kim Jong-un was preparing to add political weight to her symbolic role. The recent congress ended with no sign of the teenager, but she accompanied her father at a military parade in Pyongyang to mark the end of the meeting.<\/p>\n

Wearing matching leather coats, father and daughter chatted constantly, pointing at parade formations and singing along with performers. Kim Ju-ae watched as her father and senior military officials saluted fighter jets flying over an illuminated Kim Il-sung Square.<\/p>\n

The analyst Lim Eul-chul said the jackets were more than a fashion statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn North Korea\u2019s political symbolism, that look carries weight \u2013 it\u2019s tied to the image of the leader as the ultimate guarantor of national security and future prosperity.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo when that same symbolic attire is put on his young daughter, it\u2019s hard to see it as accidental.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Agence France-Presse<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When North Korea\u2019s ruling party held a top-level meeting this month there were predictable boasts of unstoppable nuclear…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":448635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-448634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448634\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/448635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}