Hidden origins of a dictator’s mother challenge North Korea’s royal myth
BBC examines Kim Jong Un’s mother Ko Yong Hui, born in Osaka to Zainichi Koreans and never publicly named by the regime, and how the Paektu bloodline myth secures legitimacy; the secrecy surrounding her could undermine North Korea’s hereditary system if her origins were exposed, while Kim’s public wife Ri Sol Ju is used to bolster stability.