North Korea President Bans Use Of His Daughter’s Name
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has introduced a baffling new law which bans people from using his daughter’s name.
The policy prevents parents from using his daughter’s name, Kim Ju-ae, and demands anyone with the same name use a different one.
Experts believe Kim Ju-ae, who is around ten years old, is being groomed as the leader’s successor after she was spotted at a missile launch in November.
The regime already bans people from using the names of Kim Jong-un and his predecessors.
“There was a 12-year-old girl named ‘Ju-ae’ in the people’s unit where I live. “The Ministry of Safety’s resident registration department called the girl’s parents to the Ministry of Safety and forced her to change her name and change her birth certificate.”
The name was, they said, now reserved for those of “the highest dignity”.
Another source told a similar story in South Pyongan Province.Michael Madden, an expert on the North Korean elite, said that there was precedent for the practice in the secretive state.
In fact, a ban on using Kim Jong-un’s name had been one of the first signals of his rise to the top.
He said: “The regime can and has regulated what names North Korean citizens use.
“This is something we have previously observed – they issued instructions on individuals with the name Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un.
“In fact, one of the tell-tale signs of Kim Jong-un’s own succession, 12 years ago, was that resident registration restricted use of the name ‘Jong-un’.
“This practice goes back to the 1970s and has involved various members of the Kim family.”
He noted that names had also been restricted before to honour some “largely obscure people” in the Kim family. But the reports nonetheless suggest that Kim Ju-ae “is a notable and significant member” of the ruling dynasty.
