Two more of Kim Jong-un's family members have been revealed to the public – raising suspicions that one will eventually succeed the North Korean leader. Pictured at a New Year's Eve party in Pyongyang, Kim Jong-un's niece and nephew stepped out in the public eye as they walked hand-in-hand through the city with their mum, Kim Yo-jong. Kim Jong-un's own daughter, Kim Ju-ae, has already accompanied her father at public events for the last few years, joining him for the first time at an inspection of a major intercontinental ballistic missile launch in 2022.
But North Korea is yet to have a female leader, leading experts to theorise that the nephew, who is now the only known male of his generation, could be next leader of the totalitarian state. Michael Madden, founder of North Korea Leadership Watch, believes the role will only go to someone from the bloodline of North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung.
He said: "With this event we know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Kim Yo-jong has a son. This means she has produced a legitimate male heir to the Mount Paektu revolutionary leadership of Kim Il-sung. We don't if Kim Jong-un actually has a son and there is no credible available intelligence to establish that he does.
"But Kim Yo-jong has a son who, given his family lineage, is certainly a credible candidate for hereditary succession in North Korea. It belies perceptions that Kim Ju-ae is hereditary successor.' He added: 'With a regime and state media environment like North Korea, we only see what they let us see.".
