This article was originally published in April but is being republished in light of news that leader Kim Jong-un might be in coma.
The welfare of North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong-un remains shrouded in mystery, with unconfirmed reports of the 36-year-old's death challenged by sources claiming he is alive and recovering from heart surgery.
While the world awaits an official announcement, speculation is mounting over possible successors to Kim's dictatorial reign - the most obvious candidate being his sister, Kim Yo-jong.
"He's killed all his rivals that could potentially take over, so there is no real clear successor to Kim Jong-un. North Korea is a very hierarchical, traditional place, where [the leader] has to be a man and it has to be someone from within the Kim family - and there just is nobody," Kim Jong-un biographer, The Washington Post's Beijing bureau chief and University of Canterbury alum, Anna Fifield, told The AM Show on Tuesday.
"He has an older brother who is not on the scene, he has a son who is about two or three... so in the absence of a Kim male, the only person with any kind of profile or power is his sister, Kim Yo-jong."
Who is Kim Yo-jong?
Kim Yo-jong, believed to be aged 31 or 32, is currently serving as North Korea's first deputy director. She has been her brother's de facto chief of staff for the Propaganda and Agitation Department of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the country's founding and ruling political party, since 2014.
Believed to play an instrumental role in crafting her brother's carefully-constructed image, Yo-jong was first recognised when she appeared by her brother's side at the time of their father's death in 2011. She rose through Pyongyang's political ranks over the following years, before accompanying her brother on the international stage.
Described as diminutive, respectful and courteous, Kim Yo-jong has been frequently spotted in the background of her brother's public appearances, present at both the Singapore and Hanoi summits with US President Donald Trump and the series of summits with Chinese President Xi Jinping throughout 2018 and 2019. She represented North Korea at the Winter Olympics in 2018, and reportedly became the first immediate member of the ruling dynasty to visit Seoul, tasked with meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and delivering a written letter on her brother's behalf. In March 2020, she issued an official statement as first deputy director of the WPK.
Yo-jong is the youngest daughter of former supreme leader Kim Jong-il, who died of a suspected heart attack in 2011. It's believed the mother-of-one is married to Choe Song, the son of government official Choe Ryong-hae.
Despite being the obvious heir to Kim's dictatorship, Kim Yo-jong's gender is a bitter pill to swallow in North Korea's highly patriarchal, male-dominated society. Yet other adult candidates are few and far between - the regime, although historically ruled and governed by men, also demands a leader from the Kim bloodline.
"It was hard enough for the North Korean generals [who command the nuclear weapons programme] to accept a young man nine years ago. It would be extremely hard for them to accept a young woman - but there's no one else," Fifield said.
"For North Korea, for the regime that has kept this place intact for more than 70 years, this would be a real crisis moment."
In December 2013, Kim's uncle Jang Song-thaek was executed for "treachery", with reports claiming Jang's entire family were also put to death. Kim's half-brother, Kim Jong-nam, was assassinated with nerve agent in February 2017. Other potential male heirs, brother Kim Jong-chol and Kim Jong-nam's 24-year-old son, Kim Han-sol, hold no official titles - the latter's whereabouts also being unknown. Although Kim's children have not been officially identified by state media, it's believed they are primary-school-aged.
In an interview with the National Post, Yoo Ho-yeol, a professor of North Korean studies and former advisor to South Korea's unification ministry, said Yo Jong's role will likely "be limited to a regent at most" due to the feudal system.
"[There is] not only the male-dominant leadership, but also ordinary people there would resist a female leader," he said.
However, South Korea's former envoy to international nuclear talks with North Korea, Chun Yungwoo, told the outlet that despite the country's chauvinistic society, "bloodline supplemented by status in the Korea Workers’ Party supercedes gender" - and Yo-jong has inherited "greater legitimacy" to rule than others.
In regards to the supreme leader's health, Fifield says his suspected illness, or death, is impossible to confirm until Kim "waddles back on the scene" or an official announcement is issued. Fifield notes that rumours of heart surgery appear to be credible.
"I tend to believe that he has had heart surgery - it's very credible, this incredibly obese 36-year-old who is constantly chain-smoking... but in recent days, North Korea continues to report that he's sending letters to his buddies in Syria and Cuba, suggest[ing] that he's still alive but not fit to be photographed or shown on TV," she told The AM Show.
"He may be down, but he's certainly not out until we hear more."
