Good morning. Today we’re going to peer into the black box that is North Korea. Also:
Plus, Mark Zuckerberg’s compound. North Korea is an isolated totalitarian state where information is tightly controlled. But what happens there really matters: The world’s newest nuclear power routinely threatens war with its neighbors and the U.S. And it has provided troops and weapons for Russia’s war against Ukraine. My colleagues Choe Sang-Hun, The Times’s Seoul bureau chief, and Pablo Robles, a visual journalist, have been poring over the country’s state-run media for clues about what’s going on inside this secretive place. I asked them to walk us through the nuances of one photograph — and what it might reveal about the country’s next leader.
What a photo tells us about North Korea’s heir apparent
To an eye untrained in the subtleties of North Korean propaganda, it might be hard to understand what’s so remarkable about the above image. But if you know what to look for, its significance is unmistakable: Kim Jong-un may be grooming his 12-year-old daughter to eventually take over as North Korea’s supreme leader. The photo shows Kim next to his daughter, Kim Ju-ae. They are looking out over an airfield, but what’s important is how they’re positioned. Notice how Kim Ju-ae is front and center, while her father is behind her, slightly off to the side. In North Korean state media, such things don’t happen by chance, and a photo like this one would not have been published without Kim’s permission. It’s this photo, which appeared in state media in late 2023, that most convinced analysts that Kim Ju-ae is being groomed as Kim Jong-un’s likely successor. That’s a remarkable development in a deeply patriarchal and highly militarized society. If that seems like a lot to hang on a photo, it helps to understand how North Korea works. The Rodong Sinmun, which captured and published this image, is not just the country’s main newspaper. It’s a Kim family governing tool, used to distribute both propaganda and political messaging. It’s also not just one photo. Over the course of the past three years, there has been a shift in how Kim Ju-ae is portrayed. She’s become more prominent, dressing more formally, and appearing with diplomats and military leadership. In the spring of 2024, she was referred to as a “great person of guidance” — a phrase reserved for North Korea’s top leader and his designated successor. (Kim Jong-un himself was known by that term when he was being groomed to succeed his own father, Kim Jong-il.) You can read more about this evolution here, but here’s a bonus photo, which is a reminder of the stakes when it comes to who will be North Korea’s next leader. It’s a shot of father and daughter, hand in hand, going for a stroll in front of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
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Europe is worried about the Trump-Putin summitUkraine and its European allies presented a united front yesterday ahead of a meeting in Alaska on Friday between President Trump and Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. The Europeans are concerned that Trump may make concessions to Putin that would sideline Ukraine in future peace talks. Seven European leaders, including President Emmanuel Macron of France and Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany, released a joint statement asserting that “the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.” They said that “meaningful negotiations” could take place only amid a cease-fire or a reduction in hostilities, a position long held by Ukraine but one that Russia has rejected. They also said that the current front line “should be the starting point of negotiations,” an implicit rejection of Trump’s suggestion of “land swaps” with Russia. Ukraine has flatly rejected ceding any territory. What’s next: E.U. foreign ministers are expected to meet today to discuss the way forward. Here’s what Putin hopes to gain from the summit.
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