Not impossible for North Korea to have woman leader: Experts

First public appearance of leader Kim's daughter has led to speculation she is his successor

- Chang May Choon

With the first public appearance of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's nine-year-old daughter last week triggering speculation that she has been chosen as his successor, experts say it is too early to tell, but it is not impossible for the male-dominated country to have a woman in charge.

The Kim family has ruled the reclusive state from the beginning. Founder Kim Il Sung handed over power to his oldest son Kim Jong Il, who passed it on to his third son Jong Un.

Dr Christopher Green, senior consultant at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group thinktank, said that a male heir will be preferred given that North Korea is still highly patriarchal, and there is "little reason to believe at this point that (Kim Jong Un's) daughter will ultimately succeed him".

But if there is "no appropriate male heir, a female would perhaps be preferable to a non-Kim", he told The Straits Times.

Dr Darcie Draudt, a non-resident fellow at the George Washington Institute for Korean Studies, noted that the stability of North Korea's political system is "buttressed by if not outright dependent on - a direct child of Kim Jong Un taking over in the future".