Splinter: Could North Korea End up with a Woman Leading the Country Before the U.S. Does?

"The world of totalitarian dictators is getting a bit of a shake-up this week, as something that has been intensely speculated upon in the South Korean government and media has come to pass at least on some level: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un has reportedly designated his teenage daughter as his official heir, indicating that she would be groomed to continue his family line and dictatorship."

"Still, the public appearances and governmental backing of 13-year-old Kim Ju Ae still represent an exceptional and unusual moment for North Korea, demonstrating a break with traditional women's roles within the dictatorship, and the seemingly absurd possibility that North Korea, of all places, could end up with a female executive leader before the democratic voters of the United States manage to actually elect one of our own."

Kim Jong Un has reportedly designated his teenage daughter, Kim Ju Ae, as his official heir, suggesting she would be groomed to continue the family dictatorship. South Korean officials, media, and the public remain uncertain and suspect media manipulation or intelligence operations, with some believing an unknown son might ultimately succeed. Public appearances and state backing of the 13-year-old mark an unusual break from traditional female roles and raise the prospect of a female executive leader in North Korea. North Korea's stated socialist ideals nominally grant legal equality to women, yet systemic inequality, surveillance, prison camps, neo-Confucian norms, and economic pressures leave women vulnerable. Many women have been forced to become primary breadwinners through unregulated markets while men perform unpaid mandatory government jobs.

Read at Jezebel