North Korean succession struggle to the demise: Battle for energy between Kim Jong-un’s ruthless sister and his daughter ‘might see relations EXECUTED’ by rival

A battle between Kim Jong Un‘s sister and daughter to rule North Korea could see a member of the family being executed, experts believe. 

Last week, South Korea’s spy agency told the country’s parliament that it believes Kim Ju Ae, Kim Jong Un’s young teenage daughter, is close to being designated as the country’s future leader as he moves to extend the family dynasty to a fourth generation.

But those plans could be thwarted by his ambitious sister Kim Yo Jong, who is believed to be planning to seize control for herself should the dictator die or become incapacitated. 

The 38-year-old, who helps lead the propaganda department of the country’s ruling party, is well-respected within political and military ranks and is widely seen as the most powerful person in North Korea after her brother. 

She was also rumoured to have taken on decision-making for Kim Jong Un while he was ill in 2020. 

Her years of experience and stockpile of political capital within North Korea meant that, for a long time, she was considered the de facto successor to Kim Jong Un. 

But with Ju Ae making more and more appearances in public, as her father did in the run-up to being named Kim Jong Il’s successor, it has been speculated that she may soon be named heir. 

However, as a young girl, Kim Ju Ae has none of the experience to be a proper leader, experts say. And with her aunt’s aggressive tendencies, having once lashed out with personal attacks against former US president Joe Biden in 2013, a power struggle between the two Kims may be brutal. 

Fyodor Tertitskiy, a Russian and South Korean historian who lectures at Korea University, told the Daily Mail that in the event of an uncertain line of succession – for instance, if Kim Jong Un were to die before he formally named an heir – the consequences would be bloody. 

He said: ‘The losing side could be purged with extreme prejudice, which will be mean labour camps, which will mean executions, potentially even public executions or punishments for relatives. 

‘North Korea is a very, very cruel and very, very brutal place.’ 

Other experts made similar suggestions. 

Dr. Edward Howell, a North Korea expert who lectures at the University of Oxford, told the Daily Mail: ‘We cannot rule out the prospect of a power struggle between aunt and niece, not least because there is precedent for this. 

‘One of the things we’ve learned from North Korean history is that no one, even if you are tied to the precious Kim dynasty, is safe.’ 

He pointed to several instances of ruling members of the Kim family executing close relatives upon taking power. 

Just two years after Kim took power in 2011, he had his uncle and mentor, Jang Song Thaek, arrested over allegations of having committed ‘anti-party, counter-revolutionary factional acts’.

The charges included illicit affairs with women, harbouring ‘politically-motivated ambition’, weakening ‘the party’s guidance over judicial, prosecution and people’s security bodies’ and obstructing ‘the nation’s economic affairs’.

He was later executed by firing squad in 2013.

Meanwhile, Jong Un’s older half-brother, Kim Jong Nam, fell out of favour with the dictator and was subsequently assassinated by having VX nerve agent smeared onto his face in Kuala Lumpur airport in 2017.

It is widely believed he died on the orders of the North Korean government.

Since the founding of North Korea in 1948, its leaders have come from the Kim dynasty in what is understood to be either an absolute monarch or a hereditary dictatorship. 

Kim Jong Un himself was only named successor two years before he was made Supreme Leader, giving him little time to prepare for the role. 

This perhaps explains why he has begun floating the idea of Kim Ju Ae as his successor at such a tender age. 

If she were to reach an age where she is embedded within the country’s government, learning the tricks of the dictatorial trade, then she may gain enough experience and political capital within the state to mount a serious push for leader without being anointed. 

In that case, a power struggle may be all-consuming within North Korea, experts said.

Sanghun Seok, a former South Korean diplomat who now works as a Senior Associate Fellow at RUSI, told the Daily Mail: ‘A consistent pattern has been that internal power struggles, when they occur, tend to end with one side decisively purging the other. 

‘If a contest were to unfold, it would likely revolve around control of the military, the security services and the party’s organisational and propaganda organs, while outward signs of instability would be minimised. 

‘In a system where political authority is closely tied to regime survival, both figures could be perceived as potential threats to one another. In such contexts, succession is not simply about prestige but about security and survival. 

‘This creates structural incentives for key actors to secure control rather than rely on mutual accommodation.’

Howell said: ‘We cannot rule out a power struggle between Kim Ju Ae and Kim Yo Jong not least if the latter becomes more embedded within the North Korean political establishment (or rises to positions of greater prominence). 

‘The fact that Kim Jong Un has, in the past, assassinated relatives deemed to be threatening to his grip on power does not rule out the possibility of it happening in the future, with other North Korean leaders.’

South Korea’s spy agency said last week that its analysts will be keeping a close eye on whether Ju Ae appears with her father before thousands of delegates at the upcoming Workers’ Party Congress, as that will indicate his intentions for succession. 

She first appeared in public at a long-range missile test in November 2022 and has since accompanied her father to an increasing number of events, including weapons tests, military parades and factory openings. 

She travelled with him to Beijing last September for Jong Un’s first summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in six years on the sidelines of a Second World War event.

Speculation about her political future intensified last month when she joined her parents on a New Year’s Day visit to Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, a sacred family mausoleum displaying the embalmed bodies of her late grandfather and great-grandfather, the country’s first- and second-generation leaders. 

South Korean officials initially expressed doubt that she could be chosen as a North Korean leader, citing the country’s deeply conservative culture and tradition of male-dominated leadership. 

In 2023, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers that Kim Jong Un and his wife also likely have an older son and a younger third child whose gender is unknown. 

But her increasingly prominent appearances in state media have prompted a reassessment. 

In its previous assessment of Ju Ae’s status in September, the NIS told lawmakers that Jong Un’s decision to bring her along on his trip to China was likely part of an effort to build a ‘narrative’ to pave the way for her succession.

‘In the past, (NIS) described Kim Ju Ae as being in the midst of ‘successor training.’ What was notable today is that they used the term ‘successor-designate stage,’ a shift that’s quite significant,’ said lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the briefing.

According to Lee, the agency cited her growing presence at high-profile military events, her inclusion in the family visit to Kumsusan, and signs that Jong Un was beginning to seek her input on certain policy matters.

Kim Jong Un still hasn’t formally chosen a successor, and as a result all eyes will be on the upcoming Workers’ Party congress in late February, last held in 2016 and 2021, which could provide a stage for Jong Un to formalise his succession plans. 

Dr. Howell told the Mail: ‘This is why the next few weeks are particularly important. We have the the Ninth Party Congress, and this is particularly important not only because it’s a prime occasion for the North Korean leader to outline Pyongyang’s strategy, Pyongyang’s foreign policy, Pyongyang’s war strategy, Pyongyang’s policy towards South Korea.

‘If we see any displays of Kim Ju ae with her father on the fringes of this Congress, or if there’s any announcement pertaining to Kim Ju Ae, then this will be an important thing to watch.’