Making sense of Kim Jong Un's daughter's first public appearance
Kim Jong Un appears in photographs with his daughter
Kim Jong Un appeared in photographs with his daughter for the first time ever Saturday, giving analysts a clear indication of his dynastic vision for North Korea. KCNA reported that Kim, "together with his beloved daughter and wife", oversaw the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
There has never been any news of Kim's kids before
The regime had never earlier talked about his kids, or the fact of they even existed. The only previous confirmation had come from former NBA star Dennis Rodman, who had visited North in 2013 and claimed he'd met a baby daughter of Kim's called Ju Ae.
The girl in pictures is supposedly Kim's second child
The girl is believed to be Ju Ae, Kim's second child, Cheong Seong-chang of the Center for North Korea Studies at the Sejong Institute in South Korea told AFP. She is supposedly seen as the equivalent of a North Korean "princess".
Experts believe she might be Kim's chosen successor
Cheong believes that her appearance with her father might be an indication that she was his anointed successor. Fun fact, Kim Jong Un's own father, Kim Jong Il, selected him to be his successor over his elder children because he most resembled him, Cheong said.
Is it a planned manoeuvre to portray Kim as a 'normal' leader?
Several experts also believe that the photographs might be part of a carefully stage-managed attempt by Pyongyang to show Kim is a "normal" leader. "This is not a warmonger or narcissistic Little Rocket Man. He's a good Dad, protecting his family, like he protects the Nation," North Korea expert John Delury wrote on Twitter.
A message to the world?
Analyst Soo Kim told AFP that showing off Kim's daughter to the world at this juncture could be a message to the world that the North Korean regime is not going away. "In a way, it's a symbolic picture of Kim passing the sceptre of rule to the next generation," she said.
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