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Juche femmes: A peek into Kim Jong Un’s inner circle of powerful women

The three most powerful women in Kim Jong Un’s life

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While the world is still playing the guessing game on whether Kim Jong Un is still healthy or unwell, the North Korean Supreme Leader is, however, proving to be equally capable of confusing analysts on the question of all the different women in his life.

According to numerous reports, the Rocketman's inner circle consists of three beautiful but formidable women, with one of them being a pop star in the Hermit Kingdom and a possible Kim mistress.

Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's younger sister, in recent weeks has been gathering a lot of media attention with rumours suggesting that she could be the next in line to succeed Kim if he died or became too sick to lead North Korea.

However, according to numerous experts, Kim Jong's wife -- Ri Sol-Ju -- has had way more influence on things than many expected.

"I don’t think Kim’s wife has any ambitions of being a real political player but she has respect from the elite," Bruce Bechtol, North Korean analyst and a former member of the Defense Intelligence Agency, was quoted as saying by NY Post.

"She’s absolutely beautiful and I think she and the kids would be safe if anything happened to Kim. They wouldn’t kill her like Kim’s uncle was killed. They might move her out of the country but that’s as far as they would go," he added.

Following the tradition in North Korea, the marriage of Kim Jong Un and Ri Sol-Ju was arranged and the pair now has two young kids, possibly three.

Another name in the mixer is Hyon Song-Wol, who led the Moranbong Band and was also rumoured to be dead at one point. But those reports of her death were over-exaggerated and she took over the role of the "Director of the Event" in North Korea, a post previously held by Kim's sister.

Her job involves organising major public events in North Korea, where the Supreme Leader appears.

As per reports, Hyon is either an old friend of Kim from his younger days or the last lover of his late father Kim Jong Il.

Numerous reports also suggest that Kim's affair with Hyon during his teenage years was halted by his father, but made a return when Kim was appointed as the new leader of North Korea upon his father's demise.

A North Korean-born defector, Jason Lee, who lives in the US and grew up as the son of political elites in Pyongyang, said: "Hyon is a very powerful woman".

"She’s definitely more powerful than the wife but she still may not be as powerful as the sister," Lee added.

Lee also has numerous friends in common with the Kim family and according to them, if Kim ever loses his power or life - it is Hyon who will allegedly have the most to lose.

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