Kim Jong-un's daughter takes center stage in North Korea

A television showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un with his daughter during a military parade in Pyongyang, February 9, 2023. © JUNG YEON-JE / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

What role for Kim Jong-un's daughter?

Present alongside her father on the occasion of the great North Korean military parade on Wednesday evening February 8, it was the fifth public appearance of the only known child of the leader of North Korea.

State television and the press again insisted on the privileged relationship she has with the North Korean leader.

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With our correspondent in Seoul,

Kim Jong-un enters Kim Il-sung Square to the applause of thousands of spectators.

A scene that has become usual, but this Wednesday, February 8 in the evening, his daughter, dressed in black like her father, was by his side during

.

Later, the cameras will once again focus on the ten-year-old child lovingly touching his father's face.

On Tuesday, she was already making headlines in the North Korean press, in the center of the photos, sitting between Kim Jong-un and her mother Ri Sol-ju, during a military banquet.

Enough for experts to claim that she will be the next of the dynasty to control the country.

Especially since she was initially presented as the "

 " and now she is the " 

 ", an adjective usually reserved for the highest dignitary.

For example, Kim Jong-un was baptized as a " 

 " only after being designated as the future leader of the country.

Many theories

There are many theories about this strategy.

For some, he would seek to facilitate access to power for his daughter in a country with a still patriarchal culture.

Others assure that

forced him to prepare his succession.

But according to the South Korean intelligence services, he is the father of two other children, including a son, and they believe that Kim Jong-un aims above all to show his determination to protect future generations.

► To read also: Photos of Kim Jong-un's daughter: a North Korean staging and a message to the world

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• Kim Jong Un

• North Korea