"Kim Jong-un Also Appears After Kim Jong-il's Stroke"
Kim Ju-ae, the daughter of North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un, is being strongly mentioned as the next successor of the North Korean regime, and there is an analysis that the background of Kim Ju-ae's early appearance is related to Chairman Kim's health issues.
Jo Han-beom, senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, stated on YTN The News on the 18th, "It is difficult to find any reason for Kim Ju-ae's early appearance other than health problems and the possibility of Kim Jong-un's absence."
Korean Central News Agency reported on the 16th that Kim Jong Un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission, supervised the training of the Korean People's Army Air and Ground Assault Unit on the 15th. The photo shows Kim Jong Un's daughter Ju Ae (center) watching the Air and Ground Assault Unit training through binoculars. Photo by Korean Central News Agency and Yonhap News.
Jo previously pointed out that when power was inherited by Kim Jong-un, there were also health issues with Kim Jong-il, the National Defense Commission Chairman.
He explained, "Kim Jong-un's presence began to be identified in 2008 when Kim Jong-il suffered a stroke. At that time, the CIA and our National Intelligence Service predicted that Kim Jong-il would only live for three more years, and he died exactly three years later. After Kim Jong-il's stroke, Kim Jong-un's local leadership rapidly began."
Jo said, "When Kim Jong-un appeared with his young daughter, people in Pyongyang would think, 'Kim Jong-un appeared when Kim Jong-il started to get sick.' So, if Kim Jong-un were healthy, he would be in his forties and could have another child, but the fact that he is seriously preparing a successor suggests he is not in normal health."
Jo also noted that the high frequency of Kim Ju-ae's public appearances adds weight to the successor theory. He said, "Kim Song-ae, Kim Il-sung's second wife, had no power at all, and neither did Kim Jong-il's sister nor Kim Jong-un's aunt Kim Kyong-hui. The idea that Kim Ju-ae would become the successor is unimaginable to people in Pyongyang and North Korea."
He continued, "However, Kim Ju-ae has already appeared more than 30 times. When people in Dandong, China, had indirect contact, at first they said it was nonsense that Kim Ju-ae would be the successor, but now they say nothing. They say, 'The revolution continues through generations,' showing they are getting used to a female successor."
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