I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
INTERVIEW North Korean leader's sister poses dilemma for power transition
Hyun In-ae, a non-resident research fellow at Ewha Womans University Institute of Unification Studies, smiles during an interview with The Korea Times at the daily's newsroom in Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
By Kang Hyun-kyung
This is the sixth in a series of interviews with North Korean defectors and their assimilation into South Korea―ED.
Kim Yo-jong's role necessary for smooth fourth-generation leadership succession, but things will get complicated when her niece comes of age, says Hyun In-ae
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Hyun In-ae, a non-resident research fellow at the Institute of Unification Studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, initially dismissed media speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is trying to train his daughter, Ju-ae, to be his successor.
But later she changed her position as she thought Ju-ae's frequent media exposure with her father, since her first public appearance in November last year, was quite unusual.
“I think what they said about Kim Jong-un's motives is convincing,” she said during a recent interview with The Korea Times, referring to media speculation about Kim's daughter. “Kim Jong-un took his daughter wherever he went. He would have a reason for that. I concluded that the popular view that he sees Ju-ae as more than his cute little daughter sounds quite convincing.”
Hyun, a Pyongyang native who taught university students as a faculty member for two decades in North Korea before defecting to the South, is an expert on the Kim Jong-un regime. She is the author of the 2018 book, titled “Kim Jong-un Regime: Things That Have Changed and Things That Have Remained the Same,” published by Hanul publishing house.
On top of her research work, she also serves as the chair of the social and cultural division of the planning committee for unification, which was formed earlier this year under the Ministry of Unification to chart South Korea's strategies for unification. The committee consists of 34 experts, including five North Korean defectors including Hyun, and is subdivided into five subcommittees.
Hyun and other members of the committee meet regularly every month to exchange their ideas and set forth policy directions of their areas of specialization.
Hyun speculated that Kim Jong-un's health condition seems to have motivated him to think of a successor much earlier than expected.
Kim is known to have underlying medical conditions, such as hypertension and diabetes.
“If he is confident about his health and optimistic about staying in power for decades to come, why would he take his little daughter wherever he goes and show up at major events with her?” Hyun asked.
Ju-ae's public appearances are part of her father's deliberate tactic to make his daughter known to the North Korean public as a royal family member next in line to the throne, according to the North Korean defector.
Hyun added that Ju-ae's frequent public appearances mirror the North Korean leader's early struggles in adapting to the top job of the government partly because of his obscurity among North Koreans.
“One of the formidable challenges Kim Jong-un had faced in his early years after he abruptly assumed leadership following his father's death in 2011 was that few North Koreans knew or heard about him. This is because his father didn't reveal his children,” she said.
Speculation over the next in line to succeed North Korea's leadership, in case Kim Jong-un is incapacitated, began to emerge after Ju-ae made her first public appearance last year.
Some analysts speculated that Kim Jong-un's sister, Yo-jong, is an heir apparent who will take over power in case her brother is unable to rule for some reason.
But Hyun did not buy into that idea.
“If Kim Yo-jong rises to power, her sister-in-law, Ri Sol-ju, would be very nervous,” she said “History tells power struggles know no kinship and infighting for the top job of the government happens, even among family members. No one knows if Yo-jong will step down once her role as an interim leader and caretaker of her niece is over as the latter comes of age. No one knows if she is going to let a power transition happen,”
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, front right, walks with his wife Ri Sol-ju at a ceremony to celebrate the 90th anniversary of its Revolutionary Army in Pyongyang on April 27, 2022. Kim's sister, Yo-jong, spotted inside the red circle, is seen behind North Korea's first couple. Korea Times file
In-law tensions
According to the defector, Kim Jong-un's public appearances at major national events, along with his daughter, are sort of a show signaling that Ju-ae, and not his sister, is next in line to the throne.
Although Ri Sol-ju may not be as powerful as her sister-in-law, Hyun stated that Ri still serves as first lady of North Korea and her presence is felt.
She speculated that there may be a son born between Kim Jong-un and Ri Sol-ju, but he is not seen in public due to unknown reasons, saying she also would not rule out the possibility that he is the one to succeed his father.
“Kim Jong-un didn't disclose him, maybe because his son is too young to appear in public,” she said.
“North Korea is a patriarchal society. If the first couple doesn't have a son, the first lady will find her position threatened. But Ri is still there and spotted in public, meaning she is not threatened.”
No matter who becomes North Korea's next leader, Hyun said that person will be Kim Jong-un's child, rather than his sister, because that is what the North Korean leader would want.
She said the North Korean leader does not seem to care much about gender when he fills key government posts, while reshuffles seem to be based on merit, adding that this trait reflects the influence of his Western education.
But Hyun said Kim Yo-jong's presence complicates the prospects of North Korea's leadership succession.
“In the event of a sudden leadership vacuum, she is necessary, because she can fill the gap as an interim leader. But at the same time, her presence threatens her sister-in-law and niece,” she said.
Hyun is skeptical about any dramatic changes or improvements in inter-Korean relations under the Kim Jong-un regime.
According to her, South Korea is an “existential threat” to the North Korean regime. “The more North Korean residents know about South Korea which is wealthy and prosperous, the more pressure Kim Jong-un would feel as he would find it difficult to put the North Koreans under his control,” she said.
The North Korean leader's “hysteria” is reflected in his tight control of his country, she said.
“He banned North Koreans from using the Seoul accent and those who are caught doing that face punishment. This is insane,” she said. “Why would he introduce such a ridiculous law? This reflects his insecurity and fear deep down in his heart about the possible destabilizing impact of outside information about South Korea on his control of the North.”
Born to a military family in Pyongyang in 1957, Hyun is the first of six children. She went to North Korea's prestigious Kim Il Sung University where she studied philosophy.
After graduation, she worked as a faculty member for 20 years first at Rajin University of Marine Transport and then at Chongjin Medical University.
She escaped North Korea after her husband was taken to North Korea's security forces for unknown reasons and is believed to have become a political prisoner afterwards. She has not heard anything about her husband's whereabouts since.