North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have been “in a hurry” to bring his daughter to the forefront in a bid to demonstrate his commitment to the third hereditary power succession, Seoul’s top point man on Pyongyang said on Wednesday.
Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho made the assessment amid speculation that frequent public appearances by Kim’s daughter, believed to be named Ju-ae, may indicate she could be anointed to succeed her father.
“The North Korean leader appears to be in a hurry to highlight his daughter in an indication that he is trying to demonstrate his will for succession in the face of difficulties (facing the North Korea),” Kim said in a meeting with reporters at a hotel in Yangpyeong, about 40 km east of Seoul.
The Minister said there are “signs” that North Korea has been facing multiple difficulties, citing a series of closures of its diplomatic missions and a food shortage, Yonhap news agency reported.
Kim called on the North Korea’s leader to shift the focus of state policy to measures to improve people’s livelihoods from military-focused policy at a key party meeting set for later this month.
North Korea plans to hold a plenary meeting of the central committee of the ruling Workers’ Party late this month in a bid to review its 2023 policy measures and unveil its policy lines for next year.
“(The North Korean leader) should make a bold decision for the economy and people’s livelihoods by realising that it is impossible to catch the two rabbits of the military and the economy,” the Minister said.
Meanwhile, a senior official at the Unification Ministry said Kim Ju-ae appears to have emerged “at an early stage” in the process of a hereditary succession.
In a party Congress in 2021, North Korea newly awarded the title of General Secretary to Kim Jong-un and created the posts of seven secretaries, including the first secretary.
The first Secretary of the Workers’ Party could assume Kim Jong-un’s role when the General Secretary cannot perform his duty.
“The position of the first Secretary has been vacant. This could be in consideration of Kim Ju-ae,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Ju-ae, believed to be around 10-years-old, made her first public appearance on November 18, 2022, when she, along with her father, attended the firing of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile.
Unification Minister Kim earlier left open the possibility that Ju-ae could be an heir apparent to succeed Kim Jong-un.
Kim Jong-un took over the communist country following the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011. The late Kim inherited power from his father, the country’s founder, Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994.
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