SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s “most beloved child” Ju-ae is stirring up resentment among North Koreans who see her supposedly pricey clothing and “well-fed appearance” as incongruent with the worsening food crisis they are enduring, according to a lawmaker in Seoul.

“Most North Koreans live under severe restrictions. The sight of the young Ju-ae wearing fancy clothes is frustrating people,” Representative Yoo Sang-bum, executive secretary of the National Assembly intelligence committee, said.

Mr Yoo told reporters in a closed-door briefing that Ju-ae, who is believed to be 10 years old, is into expensive hobbies like skiing and horseback riding, and that she is being homeschooled.

He said this image of her as a spoilt child contrasted with the hunger being experienced by many in North Korea.

There have been reports that Pyongyang has banned the sale of rice and corn in some parts of the country, as the government moves to monopolise food supply, most prominently through state-run food shops, so it can distribute food at lower-than-market prices.

The ban is meant to deal with food shortages caused, in part, by border shutdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Ju-ae has been seen attending a couple of high-profile events with her father.

She was with him during a major military parade that she observed from a special balcony in Pyongyang.

State media, which initially described her as Mr Kim’s “beloved child”, is now calling her “noble child” or “respected child”.

Pyongyang has unveiled the designs of a commemorative stamp featuring Ju-ae.

Sceptics say, though, that these public displays do not necessarily mean that Mr Kim is grooming Ju-ae as his political heir.

“To date, our intelligence service believes that Ju-ae is the middle child. It is still unclear if Kim’s firstborn is a son, and there is a third child whose sex also remains unknown,” Mr Yoo said. “There are speculations that Kim may not have any son.”

He said South Korea’s intelligence agency does not believe Ju-ae has already been designated as Mr Kim’s heir.

But he acknowledged that “Mr Kim parading his daughter at public events is understood to be a means to justify power passing down to the next generation in his family”. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK