North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (right), seated next to his daughter Ju-ae, watches a performance marking International Women’s Day on Sunday at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, in this photo released the next day by the Korean Central News Agency. (KCNA-Yonhap) The North Korean regime could be projecting the idea that the country is “one big socialist family” through Kim Jong-un and his daughter’s attendance of a Women’s Day event, seeking to coagulate society and further consolidate the “beloved daughter.”
Pyongyang’s state media said Monday that Kim attended a concert marking International Women’s Day Sunday at Pyongyang Indoor Stadium, accompanied by his wife Ri Sol-ju and daughter known as Ju-ae.
The North Korean people welcomed their leader as he entered the auditorium with his wife and their “beloved daughter,” according to the Korean Central News Agency.
As in previous reports, state media did not mention the daughter by name, referring to her only as Kim’s “beloved daughter,” a phrase frequently used to describe her. Analysts widely believe she is being groomed as a potential successor. Photos released by state media showed Ju-ae seated between her parents during the concert, with Kim holding her hand as they watched the performance.
In a speech delivered at the event, Kim emphasized the importance of women in the country’s socialist development.
“So important and irreplaceable are their responsibility and role in developing the socialist society of our own style and finding proper solutions to many big and small social problems,” Kim was quoted as saying by the KCNA.
Kim added that the recent Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea had renewed his awareness of the contributions made by women.
“As we were to greet the women’s day some days after the Ninth Congress of our Party, in which we reviewed the precious successes achieved for the good of the country, I was reminded of all the exceptional and unknown efforts the women of this country had made for those successes,” KCNA quoted Kim.
Seoul’s Unification Ministry spokesperson Yoon Min-ho noted during a regular briefing on Monday that while Kim had attended an International Women’s Day performance once before, this marked the first time he delivered a speech at such an event.
Yoon also said it was the first time Ri Sol-ju and Ju-ae accompanied him to the commemorative performance, suggesting the appearance may have been intended to highlight the image of a “socialist family.”
Yang Moo-jin, a distinguished professor at the University of North Korean Studies, echoed Yoon. He believes the presence of both the first lady and Ju-ae was meant to emphasize the concept of a “socialist extended family,” a North Korean ideological narrative portraying the state as a single household led by the supreme leader.
“The presence of Ri Sol-ju and Ju-ae together conveys a message that the state and the socialist family are unified,” Yang said. “Because Ju-ae did not accompany Kim alone, but appeared together with Ri Sol-ju, the emphasis seems to be on the harmony and stability of the socialist ‘family.’”
Ju-ae’s increasingly frequent appearances next to Kim align with the National Intelligence Service’s assessment delivered to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee last month that she has entered the stage of being designated as a successor.
Sunday’s performance was attended by senior officials of the party and government, members of the Workers’ Party Central Committee, and exemplary female officials and workers from institutions and enterprises in Pyongyang, according to KCNA. Diplomats from several foreign embassies stationed in North Korea were also invited.
Photos released by state media showed several prominent female figures seated in the front row near Kim and his family, including Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the leader and a senior party official, and veteran state television announcer Ri Chun-hee.
mkjung@heraldcorp.com