Kim Jong-Un's sister Kim Yo-Jong North Korea's Supreme Leader-in waiting amid health fear?

As speculations arose regarding Kim Jong-Un's health after he gave North Korea's annual Day of the Sun ceremony a miss, in a new round of whispers, reports suggest that the North Korean dictator's sister Kim Yo-Jong is all set to reign control of the country if something was to happen to her brother. 

Speculations about her being next in the line of succession arose after US media houses reported that Kim Jong-Un had caught COVID-19 from a Chinese doctor who had flown in to help with his heart valve surgery. While most reports suggested that the North Korean dictator was in 'a stable condition,' another report claimed Kim Jong-un to be 'brain dead' after his surgery, adding that US President Donald Trump and his administration were already looking into 'potential line of succession'.

Read: North Korea Denies Sending Letter To Donald Trump Recently: Report

The reports seem to be carrying a kernel of truth because this was the first time since he had assumed the role as the county's dictator in 2011, that Kim Jong-un had missed North Korea's annual Day of the Sun, which marks the birth of his grandfather Kim Il Sung; a celebration and holiday, deeply significant for the Kim family.  

Rumors of his sister Kim Yo-Jong being his successor come from her multiple appearances in places of prominence such as her taking Jong-un's place representing North Korea at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang as well as catching the eye of the US officials as a 'potential threat.' As per reports Kim Yo-Jong has been blacklisted by the US for 'severe human rights abuses.' 

It was only a few weeks ago that Kim Yo-Jong was given a prominent position on the North Korean cabinet after her brother ordered a reshuffle of the political bureau of the central committee. And of course, second-in-command, she also replaced her allegedly ill brother at the Sun ceremony at Kumsusan Palace falling into her brother's shadow as an 'alter ego'. 

However, despite North Korea's regime being a 'family business', it is important to understand the cultural thought process of a country that has only seen stringent successions of male dictatorship, with only men holding positions of power. Solidifying their thought process is the Confucian ideals that North Korea follows, which hold ideals of seniority and masculinity in high regard.

While it is difficult to imagine Kim Yo-Jong being allowed to emerge as the next supreme leader of the country, with uncertainty regarding next-in-line and ailing Kim Jong-Un not crowing anyone as his next heir, could Kim Yo-Jong emerge as the first female dictator of the isolated regime?

Read: North Korea Denies That Kim Sent Trump 'a Nice Note'

Read: North Korean Defectors, Experts Question Zero Virus Claim