Father of all children — but Kim Ju-ae’s privileged life fuels resentment in North Korea, defector says

Public resentment is reportedly growing among young North Koreans over leader Kim Jong-un’s apparent push to position his daughter Kim Ju-ae as his successor, as her privileged lifestyle and luxury clothing contrast sharply with the lives of ordinary residents.

"When children enter daycare, they are taught to say, 'Thank you, respected Marshal Kim Jong-un, our father,' but it looks like a father who favors only his own daughter," Ryu Seong-hyeon, a North Korean defector and former North Korean military officer, said on Friday on the YouTube channel Cho Han-beom TV (translated). The channel mainly covers the lives and stories of North Korea.

"Young people around Kim Ju-ae’s age who have reached adulthood cannot help but feel angry when they see Kim Ju-ae appearing in such glamorous fashion."

Ryu said the privileged treatment Kim Ju-ae receives clashes with North Korea’s own propaganda.

North Koreans are taught that Kim Jong-un is the father of all children, yet while other children work in fields, Kim Ju-ae appears in glamorous outfits, wearing sunglasses and luxury goods, fueling resentment, he explained.

He also claimed that Kim Jong-un's appearances with his daughter "have reached a point that would be impossible unless she were the successor."

Ryu explained that when Kim Ju-ae first appeared alongside Kim Jong-un at major events, he simply saw it as a father attending events with his daughter. More recently, however, he has come to see them as moves made with succession in mind.

Ryu nevertheless said the North Korean regime would not easily collapse without outside intervention.

"In liberal democracies, individuals do not collapse just because the government is struggling, but North Korea is designed to keep only the regime intact while thoroughly crushing individuals," Ryu said. "Unless a spark is introduced from outside, the North Korean system will last longer than any other on Earth."

Kim Ju-ae made her first official public appearance in November 2022, when she accompanied Kim Jong-un as he oversaw the test launch of the Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile. Believed to have been around 9 years old at the time, Kim Ju-ae wore a thick white padded jacket and black pants, with her hair tied back.

Since then, Kim Ju-ae has appeared at official events in clothing rarely seen among ordinary North Koreans, including high-end leather jackets, fur coats and luxury apparel. She has been spotted wearing a luxury watch worth tens of millions of won. Last year, she also attended an Air Force event wearing a leather coat and sunglasses from Italian luxury brand Gucci.

The BBC analyzed in May that Kim Ju-ae’s clothing could serve as a propaganda device designed both to transform the image of a young successor into that of a mature, powerful leader and to underscore her privileged status apart from ordinary North Koreans. The BBC also noted that her Western-style luxury clothing itself could be part of a strategy to distinguish her as someone with a special status different from that of ordinary residents.

The National Intelligence Service (NIS), meanwhile, assessed on Sept. 1 that Kim Ju-ae has effectively entered the stage of being designated as the next successor.

The NIS said Kim Ju-ae’s frequent appearances in the media are largely intended to "imprint her standing as a leader on North Korean residents," assessing that the succession structure is effectively entering a stage of consolidation, according to the agency briefing released after a full meeting of the National Assembly Intelligence Committee by its ruling and opposition party secretaries, Rep. Youn Kun-young of the Democratic Party and Rep. Yoo Yeong-ha of the People Power Party.

BY JANG GU-SEUL [[email protected]]