North Korea's most beloved' child: what the key congress revealed about Kim Jong-un's succession plans

"The most immediate and insurmountable barricade for Kim Ju-ae is the deeply ingrained patriarchal nature of North Korea, Mitch Shin, who covers the Korean peninsula for the Diplomat, wrote this month, adding that North Korea functioned more as a Neo-Confucian monarchy than as a socialist state. There is little to suggest that the country's ranks of ageing generals would accept a woman as supreme leader."

"For these men, many in their 60s and 70s, the concept of swearing absolute and life-and-death loyalty to a young woman is more than a cultural shift. It is a structural anomaly that threatens the internal logic of the regime."

"Instead, Kim may be using his daughter as a human shield for the actual successor, Kim Jong-un's long-rumoured oldest child. In this way, his son can be shielded from the prying eyes of international intelligence."

North Korea's Workers' Party congress sparked speculation about succession planning following Kim Jong-un's rule. While conventional wisdom suggests his daughter Kim Ju-ae will become the fourth-generation leader of the dynasty, dissenting expert voices highlight significant obstacles. North Korea's deeply ingrained patriarchal structure and Neo-Confucian monarchy traditions create barriers to female leadership. Aging generals in their 60s and 70s would struggle to accept absolute loyalty to a young woman, viewing it as a structural threat to regime logic. Some analysts propose Kim may be using his daughter as a strategic shield while positioning his oldest son as the actual successor, protecting him from international intelligence scrutiny.

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