Kim Ju Ae in Focus as North Korea’s Potential Next Leader Amid Succession Debate

Could North Korea, a country long dominated by male leaders, be preparing to appoint its first female supreme leader? Speculation is growing that leader Kim Jong Un may be grooming his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his successor. According to information provided by North Korean defectors and South Korean intelligence sources, Kim has been taking his daughter to important events, including missile tests and military parades, for the past four years. Analysts believe these appearances may be part of an effort to establish her public profile and prepare her for a future leadership role. Since its establishment in 1948, North Korea has been ruled by three generations of the Kim family.

Former North Korean diplomat Thae Yong-ho has said the protocol and status currently accorded to Kim Ju Ae suggest that she may already have been marked as her father’s successor. He pointed out that similar treatment was given to Kim Jong Un when he was being introduced as the future leader. Of the 17 departments in the ruling Workers’ Party, only one is currently headed by a woman Kim’s sister, Kim Yo Jong. Some defectors believe that sections of North Korea’s male-dominated establishment may find it difficult to accept a young girl as the country’s supreme leader. However, other observers argue that the Kim family’s near-divine status in the country could make gender less of an obstacle to her succession.