By Katherine Tinsley
2:08pm PST, Jan 10, 2025
Jong has been an integral figure in North Korea, as she currently serves as the Deputy Department Director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers' Party.
Despite Jong and Un's professional and familial relationship, the siblings could one day fight over which of Kim Il Sung's descendants should inherit the role as the Supreme Leader of North Korea.
Jong being spotted with her son could mean that Un's nephew is the only legitimate male heir to his current role, as the politician and his wife, Ri Sol-Ju, only have one daughter: Kim Ju-ae.
"With this event we know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Kim Yo-Jong has a son," Michael Madden, the founder of North Korea Leadership Watch, told The Sun.
"This means she has produced a legitimate male heir to the Mount Paektu revolutionary leadership of Kim Il-sung," he added.
Over the years, there have been rumors of Un fathering a child outside of his marriage, but the claims have never been proven.
"We don't know if Kim Jong-un actually has a son and there is no credible available intelligence to establish that he does," Madden explained.
"But Kim Yo-Jong has a son, who given his family lineage, is certainly a credible candidate for hereditary succession in North Korea," he added.
Since North Korea's inception, the nation has been patriarchal since its never had a female leader. However, before experts saw Jong with her kids, many wondered if Kim Ju-ae would make history by becoming her father's successor.
It's unclear who will lead the next generation of North Koreans, but the dictator often includes Kim Ju-ae in public gatherings in outfits similar to his own.
"Dressing up in dark, extravagant clothes makes her look like a mini version of Kim Jong Un, and that is exactly what the regime wants people to see of her," Professor Jeon Young Sun of Konkuk University told ABC News. "The regime is deliberately differentiating her from other kids her age, to show that her ancestry is of the revered Kim leadership."
