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15 WORLD North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, his daughter and senior officials attend a "a combined tactical drill to substantially bolster the country's war deterrence and nuclear counterattack capability and let relevant units get familiar with the procedures and processes for implementing their tactical nuclear attack missions" held on 18 and 19 March maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 22 MARCH 2023 North Korea 'power struggle' seen among Kim Jong Un's sister, wife, child IN an interview this week, the first senior diplomat to defect from North Korea has revealed his views on a potential power struggle emerging at the highest levels of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's dynasty, and his plan for a possible path forward to engage the ruler of the isolated, nucle- ar-armed nation on human rights issues. Ko Young Hwan, 69, served on the front lines of the diplomatic war that played out for decades in Africa between Pyong- yang and Seoul as they competed for rec- ognition among nations of the continent. Amid a reported spat with his superiors, the man who had served as a French in- terpreter for North Korean founder Kim Il Sung escaped his posting in the Congo and ultimately claimed asylum in South Korea in 1991, where he went on to work as an expert at the National Security Strategy Institute until his retirement in 2016. Ko told Newsweek that he remains in contact with those still living in North Korea and he reveals an elusive insight in- to the current state of the country, from its foreign policy to the succession of its three-generation leadership. He took particular note of the introduc- tion to the world last November of Kim Jong Un's daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, at the launch site of the Hwa- song-17 intercontinental ballistic missile. Prior to that moment, the only evidence of her existence outside of intelligence reports was a first-person account by for- mer U.S. basketball star Dennis Rodman following his 2013 trip to North Korea. But a decade later she has emerged as an increasingly important component of her father's public messaging. Ko told Newsweek that the decision to introduce her was taken "to imply the fourth-generation power transfer to sen- ior officials and military elite as well as, externally, that Kim Jong Un wants to portray his image as 'daddy,' loving his own daughter and caring for the future of the nation." Showing Kim Ju Ae alongside Kim Jong Un at missile sites, live-fire launches and military events indicates that the ruler "thinks that the transfer of nuclear weap- ons to the future is a means to protect his own nation and he wants to portray that image," according to Ko. In her most recent appearance released Monday, she accompanied her father dur- ing what the official Korean Central News Agency reported to be a two-day "com- bined tactical drill to substantially bolster the country's war deterrence and nuclear counterattack capability." There is precedent for official introduc- tions of members of North Korea's first family to be linked to the succession of its leadership. Kim Jong Un's father, Kim Jong Il, first showed off his youngest son in 2010, only about a year before he would take power following the elder Kim's death in late 2011. And though secrecy continues to sur- round the Kim family, Kim Jong Un has a record of breaking the traditionally male-dominated mold. Kim Ju Ae's rise to "most beloved" daughter has come in the wake of two oth- er North Korean women ascending to the spotlight. Kim Jong Un's younger sister, Kim Yo Jong, has climbed the ranks to vice director of the ruling Korean Workers' Party Propaganda and Agitation Depart- ment under his rule, and Kim Jong Un also broke precedent in formally introducing his wife, Ri Sol Ju, to the public shortly af- ter taking power. The prominence of Kim Jong Un's sister at the forefront of international exchanges has garnered significant attention inside and outside of North Korea. But Ko said that, "after the introduction of Kim Ju Ae, Kim Yo Jong is sidelined," leading to po- tential tensions among contenders for the future of the number one seat. Ko highlighted evidence of insider fric- tions leading up to Kim Ju Ae's public debut in an account of an alleged alterca- tion between Kim Yo Jong and influential former Propaganda and Agitation De- partment Director Kim Ki Nam. Despite Kim Ki Nam's powerful position, rumors among North Koreans are that "she shout- ed and threw documents" during this dis- pute and that "she was very angry." Questions also continue to surround the nearly year-long absence between June 2021 and April 2022 of Korean Work- ers' Party Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Ri Pyong Chol, one of the central figures of North Korea's nuclear weapons program and believed to be ei- ther the father or grandfather of Ri Sol Ju. He attended an enlarged meeting of the commission last month but did not appear present at a subsequent gathering held Sunday. Since Kim Ju Ae's introduction, there have been even more potentially signifi- cant public indications that something has changed with respect to Kim Jong Un's sister and daughter. Ko pointed out that Kim Yo Jong, who was previously seen in positions very close to her brother at ma- jor events, has since been present at the periphery from the center stage occupied by Kim Jong Un alongside Kim Ju Ae and Ri Sol Ju. Recent examples include the absence of any clear shots of Kim Yo Jong through- out state media coverage of a February 7 military parade marking the 75th anniver- sary of the Korean People's Army, possi- bly only appearing in a barely recogniza- ble cameo in the far background as Kim Jong Un walked the red carpet with wife and daughter. Then, Kim Yo Jong was also sat at the end of a back row far from her brother and niece during a soccer game held between the North Korean Cabinet and National Defense Ministry to com- memorate the birthday of the two siblings' late father on February 18. Ko emphasized that "all Koreans" watched these scenes, and that this shift "proves that Kim Yo Jong is losing ground to Kim Ju Ae." But it remains unclear how exactly Kim Yo Jong may react as she remains a pow- erful part of her brother's government at a time when her niece is estimated to be only about 10 years old. Unverified re- ports citing intelligence assessments have emerged of at least two other children between Kim Jong Un and Ri Sol Ju, one born in 2010 and the other in 2017, though they too would likely be too young to fill the footsteps of their father, who is now believed to be in his late 30s or early 40s and became the country's youngest leader at approximately age 27. "Kim Yo Jong is at the center of the re- gime and is a close aide to Kim Jong Un, handling a lot of tasks of North Korea," Ko said, "and Ri Sol Ju is worried that, while her children are very young, Kim Yo Jong is overly active."