North Koreans secretly hate Kim Jong Un's daughter Kim Ju Ae. Here's why

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's daughter has been making several public appearances lately. Nine-year-old Kim Ju Ae has been seen at ballistic missile launches, at state events in tow with her father and even inspecting missiles. She is always well-dressed in expensive clothes with her hair in place. At a February 25 event in Pyongyang, Kim Ju Ae, her father and several officials dug the ceremonial first shovels of dirt while dedicating a new street. But Kim Ju Ae was as immaculately dressed as ever. While Kim Ju Ae's public appearances have sparked rumours that she might be being groomed to succeed Kim Jong Un, the people of North Korea reportedly resent her. Kim Ju Ae looks all "plump and white", leaving starving North Koreans angry who barely manage to garner three meals a day.

North Korean citizens say Kim Ju Ae looks "so different" from the children of "common people" who don't get three meals a day as the country is facing a food shortage. South Korean experts recently said that the North will be short of one million tonnes of grain this year, which is around 20 per cent of its annual demand.

A report by Radio Free Asia quotes people as saying how angry they get seeing Kim Ju Ae's healthy appearance and expensive clothes. An anonymous source told RFA, “It makes me angry that my situation is so hard to bear, and Kim Ju Ae, who we all know is eating and living well, is showing up on TV in her fancy clothes so often." She looks "so different" to the children of "common people whose cheekbones stick out from their faces even more than ever before", another person said.

Another person says, "She must be eating so well, her face is so white and plump like the moon."

Dubbed North Korea's "Beloved Child", Kim Ju Ae has been making appearances in propaganda even as children of "common people" often sleep on empty stomachs.

Besides her "round and rosy cheeks", citizens also resent how she gets away with wearing anything she likes, while others in the country are punished for following "capitalist culture" when they grow their hair or dress up in fashionable clothes.

“Kim Ju Ae’s clothing and appearance are completely different from what an ordinary teenage girl could get away with," one source told RFA.

South Korea's National Intelligence Service chief Kim Kyou-hyun recently gave the MPs the lowdown on Kim Ju Ae's lifestyle in a closed briefing. He said Kim Ju Ae doesn't attend regular school and enjoys horseback riding, swimming and skiing. Revealing more about Kim Jong Un's kids, Kyou-hyun said that Kim Ju Ae is the second of three children. She has an older brother and another younger sibling. However, the sex of the third child is not known.

There have been reports that Kim Jong Un's son is suffering from a mental disability, which is why he is not brought out in the public. But Kyou-hyun says "there is no intelligence that confirms rumours of physical or mental disabilities".

Bringing Kim Ju Ae out in the public is being seen as a sign of either of two things -- first, she is probably being prepared to take over Kim Jong Un one day. However, experts don't think that a woman can lead a military regime such as North Korea. Second, her appearance might be a way to soften Kim Jong Un's image by portraying him as a loving father and a family man.

(With inputs from agencies)

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