Kim Jong-un has revealed two more members of his family to the world, and one of them could be the next leader of North Korea.
His niece and nephew were seen walking hand in hand with their mother, Kim Yo-jong, the tyrant’s sister, at the Pyongyang New Year’s Eve party.
Until now, the leader’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, was the only member of her generation in the public eye, fueling speculation that she would be the next leader.
But patriarchal North Korea has never had a female leader, and now experts wonder whether the nephew – the only known male of his generation – could be the true heir.
Michael Madden, founder of North Korea Leadership Watch, said the position could only be filled by someone from the lineage of Kim Il-sung, the nation’s founder.
He said: ‘With this event we know, without a doubt, that Kim Yo-jong has a son.
‘This means that it has produced a legitimate male heir to Kim Il-sung’s Mount Paektu revolutionary leadership.
“We do not know whether Kim Jong-un actually has a son and there is no credible information available to establish that he does.”
Pictured: Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un, walking with her niece and nephew at the New Year’s Eve party in Pyongyang.
In the photo: Jong-un with his daughter Kim Ju-ae, at the New Year’s Eve celebrations in North Korea.
‘But Kim Yo-jong has a son who, given his family lineage, is undoubtedly a credible candidate for hereditary succession in North Korea.
“This contradicts the perception that Kim Ju-ae is a hereditary successor.”
North Korea’s ruling family has always been shrouded in secrecy and analysts often rely on regime propaganda to confirm the existence of its members.
Therefore, New Year’s Eve offers a rare glimpse behind the curtain.
Madden said the annual spectacle had become “a family event to which North Korean elites bring their wives or children.”
And he had no doubt that it was a deliberate choice to debut the niece and nephew.
He said: “With a state media regime and environment like North Korea, we only see what they let us see.”
Kim Jong-un is rumored to have two other children, including a son, but they have never been made public.
In the boy’s case, a spymaster from neighboring South Korea claimed this was because he was too “pale and thin” for North Korean tastes.
Madden said the annual spectacle had become “a family event where North Korean elites bring their wives or their children”: Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un, walking with her niece and nephew.
One South Korean media outlet, NK News, even suggested that the two children at the New Year’s celebration could be Kim Jong-un’s other children, but admitted this was “less likely.”
The duo were not seen again on television, and Kim Yo-jong was later seen in the royal box, apparently without them.
In any case, the leader was accompanied only by his daughter for the occasion.
And Madden maintains that she remains her father’s most likely successor.
He said: “I still think Kim Ju-ae is the favorite and there is certainly room for a female North Korean leader.”
‘But with Kim Yo-jong’s children we have at least two more individuals who will become senior elites and future senior officials of the North Korean regime.
“So the regime is signaling that these are the future North Korean elites.”
Madden, a fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington DC, said Pyongyang was also sending a message to the next US president, Donald Trump.
He said: ‘In 2018, Kim Jong-un told former South Korean president Moon Jae-in that he was a husband and father, and that he would do nothing to bring nuclear destruction to the Korean Peninsula.
“So by bringing her own children to a public event, Kim Yo-jong may be subtly reiterating that point to outside observers, including the Trump administration in the United States and the next leaders in South Korea.”
And he added: ‘In a general context, bringing their children to light is part of the normalization of the North Korean regime.
‘In this way, it becomes less opaque, less mysterious and relatively transparent, and reduces the average perception in the world that North Korean political culture is quixotic and strange.
“Kim Yo-jong is one of the main drivers and advisors in this long-term process to make North Korea a more traditional authoritarian regime.”
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) is now attempting to verify the relationship between Kim Yo-jong and the children.
“We are conducting a detailed analysis while keeping the possibility open,” he said in a statement.
The NIS has previously suggested that Kim Yo-jong could have children, whose alleged ages match those of the children caught on camera.