Kim’s daughter, Cheong Seong-chang, and his father, Kim Jon Il, at the ICBM test-launch
The child that Kim brought to the banquet on Tuesday was thought to be his daughter and could possibly become his successor in an authoritarian family regime that has lasted for decades.
People outside of North Korea believe that Kim Un has at least three children, but this cannot be verified by anyone outside of North Korea.
Kim’s banquet is to show that soldiers are supported by the state and officers are well respected in society.
Military officers applauded as the pictures were published by the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper.
In a country where the Kim family and the military are all powerful, the presence of the girl at such an important event sends clear signals, said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
“By ostentatiously including his wife and daughter, Kim wants observers at home and abroad to see his family dynasty and the North Korean military as irrevocably linked,” said Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul.
Observers say it is clear that Kim has made a decision about his successor and the girl at the ICBM test-launch with her dad was his choice.
Cheong Seong-chang from the Sejong Institute in South Korea said that North Korean state media published pictures of Kim and his daughter, describing her as his most beloved child.
He died in 1994, and his son took control of the country. Kim’s father, Kim Jon Il, died in December 2011 and gave the throne to his son.
The ‘Peaceful” Banquet at the Kim Regime: Tests of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles in a Record Year
The setting for Tuesday’s banquet was more splashy than has been seen before in previous banquets held by the Kim regime.
Kim was applauded and encouraged the military by the leader of the country without making any mention of the United States or South Korea.
An event is expected to start late Wednesday night and analysts are expecting to see some examples of missiles that were tested in a record year.
At least 11 Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles (I missiles) were displayed by the North Korean military on Wednesday night, after leader Kim was quoted as calling for an “exponential increase” in his country’s nuclear arsenal.
When Dennis Rodman went to Kim, he held his baby, Ju Ae, and spoke to Kim’s wife as well.
Cheong said he’s convinced the girl’s appearance at recent events and how she is referred to in state-run media show she is being primed to succeed her father.
Her recent appearances may simply be a way to redirect the world’s attention back to Pyongyang’s military after audience fatigue set in following a year of record missile testing, said Chun In-bum, a retired South Korean general.
The North Koreans probably stumbled upon the idea that it is a way of getting international attention. He said that they are enjoying themselves because of all the interest.
The young dynasty ruler and her daughter, Ju Ae, isn’t the successor of $5, but she is a boy
“Throughout their seven-decade history, their successors have always been a mystery to us. Why would they make a change now? If I made a bet of $5, I would say that she isn’t the successor.
There is still debate about Ju Ae, but it is clear that her father wants to keep his family in power.
Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said on social media that if each of those missiles were equipped with multiple nuclear warheads they could represent enough volume to overwhelm US missile defenses.
Solid-fueled missiles on mobile launchers would give the Kim regime “the ability to attack an opponent with very, very little prior warning,” Chun said. It is a really scary scenario.
SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea’s top intelligence agency on Tuesday confirmed – again – that North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un has three children and the eldest is a boy.
The dynasty ruler’s children were the subject of questions after the apparent second child made a lot of public appearances.
She has made six additional appearances over the course of three months. She attended a banquet with defense officials, a parade, and a sports event. She had pictures of her at the missile test site printed on stamps.
Ju Ae: a daughter or a son? The hereditary succession to the North Korean people and the mistreatment of the Kim dynasty
It’s rare for a leader’s private life to be revealed in a secretive country like the one that displays Ju Ae.
The purpose of Ju Ae appears to be to justify the hereditary succession to the North Korean people. She is a student at the University of North Korea, and she enjoys swimming, skiing, and horseback riding.
That visual and linguistic treatment of the child, who hasn’t even reached her teens, raised the possibility that she is being groomed to succeed her father as the country’s fourth-generation leader.
The South Korean government and some other experts say that North Korea would not risk exposing its future leader at such a young age and that she only serves to help the myth of the Kim dynasty by being a loving father.
But a more crucial counterargument is that Ju Ae is a daughter. South Korea’s Unification Ministry and the spy agency are unclear about her status because of North Korea’s patriarchal culture.
And the NIS told the parliamentary intelligence committee on Tuesday that it continues to believe that Kim has a son based on intelligence, although it does not have “concrete evidence,” according to lawmakers who attended the closed meeting.