Kim Jong Un is known for many things: his megalomaniacal obsession with rockets, his clandestine love for McDonald’s, and his iron fist. But did you know he had a daughter?
Yep, you read that right.
On Saturday (19 November), North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was seen with his daughter inspecting the country’s largest ballistic missile the day after its launch.
The pair was found hand-in-hand looking at the massive missile.
Daughter Disclosure
Although his children have never been publicly revealed before, Kim is believed to have three children: two girls and a boy.
Wait, what?
In 2013, retired American Basketball star Dennis Rodman visited North Korea and in that visit, he had spent time with Kim and his family.
He told The Guardian newspaper that Kim had a baby daughter named Ju Ae and that he had held the baby.
Wife’s Appearance
The missile launch on Friday also saw the rare appearance of Kim’s wife, Ms Ri Sol Ju.
Her presence is usually significant because she is used in a calculated manner.
Mr Ken Gause, a North Korea leadership expert with CNA, a US based non-profit research organisation, said that “whenever Ri Sol Ju appears, there is strategic messaging involved. Normally designed to tamp down tensions, counter other aggressive messaging (like tests), or show Kim family cohesion in times of internal troubles.”
Future of North Korea
Mr Michael Madden, a North Korean leadership expert at the US-based Stimson Centre, said, “This is the first observed occasion where we have seen Kim Jong Un’s daughter at a public event.
“It is highly significant and represents a certain degree of comfort on Kim Jong Un’s part that he would bring her out in public in such fashion.”
Madden had estimated that baby Ju Ae is now 12-13 years old, which means that she would be going to university or military service in about four to five years.
So, what does this mean for the nation?
“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,” he said.
As of now, there is no designated successor of North Korea’s leader, but this move could signal a possible hereditary succession of Kim.
“Her presence is for an elite audience”
The Missile Launch
North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Friday (18 November).
The missile landed 210 km west of Japanese island Oshima Oshima and was assessed by Japanese officials to have the potential to reach the US.
In 2017, the then-US Defence Secretary James Mattis said that a missile launched by North Korea could hit “everything in the world”.
North Korea has proven its ability to launch ballistic missiles. Said missiles are fired into space before plunging back down to Earth and thus it is still unconfirmed as to whether they can put a nuclear warhead atop it and hit a target accurately.
The firing of missiles is seen as a threat to the US as well as South Korea.
However, this isn’t a surprise, for we’ve seen it before.
After October’s missile test, Kim has announced that his nuclear forces are prepared for “actual war”.
Ah shoot.
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Featured Image: Korean Central News Agency
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