Could Kim Jong-un’s uncle, who spent decades abroad, become the next North Korean leader?
- With the health of Kim Jong-un still unclear, his uncle Kim Pyong-il is now being mentioned as a possible successor
- Conservative male leaders in Pyongyang may resist giving power to Kim Jong-un’s younger sister Kim Yo-jong, who has been at his side in recent years
Kim Pyong-il, 65, is the last known surviving son of North Korea’s founder, Kim Il-sung. After losing out in the 1970s to his half-brother, Kim Jong-il – who ended up running the country from 1994 to 2011 – Kim Pyong-il spent about four decades overseas in diplomatic posts including in Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland, Poland and the Czech Republic before returning to Pyongyang last year.
Although Kim Pyong-il has been effectively sidelined – he was largely purged from state media and never developed enough power back home to mount a serious challenge for leadership – some North Korea watchers say he could end up taking over from the 36-year-old Kim Jong-un, who has not named a successor. This is mainly because he has Kim blood, and he’s a man.
The conservative male leaders in Pyongyang would resist giving power to Kim Yo-jong – Kim Jong-un’s younger sister who has been by his side helping to make policy the past few years – according to Thae Yong Ho, who was North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the UK before he defected to South Korea in 2016. That is due to her gender and relatively young age of 30.
“The problem is that a Kim Yo-jong-led North Korea is unlikely to be sustainable,” Thae said, warning that collective leadership with her as the figurehead could lead to chaos. “To avoid this, some in the leadership would try to bring back Kim Pyong-il, who’s now under house arrest, to the centre of the power.”