Among dictators, power is often a family affair, as evidenced by the recent appearances of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with his 10-year-old daughter, Ju Ae. Her media coverage suggests that she could become the country’s first dictator.
Presence at military parades, stamps with her likeness or ban on bearing her first name, Ju Ae has been talking about her more and more lately. A creepy staging for a girl barely 10 years old…
Ju Ae: the designated heiress?
Revealed to the public on November 19 by KCNA, the only source of information in the country, Ju Ae, the daughter of the North Korean dictator does not stop talking about her.
The only child of Kim Jong-un to have been officially presented, Ju Ae multiplies perfectly orchestrated public appearances. On February 8, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Army, she was, for example, at the heart of the ceremony.
KNCA has unveiled photos on which the young girl sits in a central position in front of generals. His father, though leader of the country, is relegated to his left, giving the illusion of being only a right arm. She also attended the parade organized by the regime to unveil a record quantity of missiles.
An overmediatization which, according to observers, would herald the ambitions that Kim Jong-un has for his daughter: to make her the heiress and therefore the future dictator. These suppositions are reinforced by the recent revelations of Radio Free Asia.
According to the media, the North Korean authorities would now force anyone named Ju Ae to change their first name. The first names banned in the past (Il Sung, Jong-Il and Jong-un) are none other than those of the country’s leaders. One more clue?
The girl also appears on the latest stamps unveiled by the North Korean Postage Stamp Company (KSC). Ju Ae appears alongside her father in front of missiles or in front of soldiers, as a sign that the current military deployment will be perpetrated in time.
A child behind the heiress
In front of the missiles or the generals, his face stands out. Ju Ae’s youthful features do indeed seem out of place in the photos shared by the regime, and for good reason, she is only a child.
The staging of the regime shows a little girl who, behind her mask imposed by her status, does not seem to quite understand what she is doing there. Her serious expression fades when she crosses a room full of applauding generals and gives way to a smile: that of a young girl delighted to be the center of attention.
The North Korean regime, one of the most closed and restrictive in the world, is creating a dictator without her really realizing it. And it is this discrepancy, palpable in the photos, that makes you feel uncomfortable.
source: koolmag