South Korean TV joked about a possible marriage between Nikolai Lukashenka and Kim Jong Un's daughter

Screenshot of the video. Source: channelA_meetnow / YouTube

In the popular South Korean program about North Korea "Now We Meet" (이제 만나러 갑니다) on Channel A, experts, journalists, and former North Korean defectors discussed Alexander Lukashenka's visit to Pyongyang. The program aired on May 17.

In the studio, attention was drawn to the exceptionally ceremonial reception: a meeting in Kim Il Sung Square, a guard of honor, an artillery salute, and Kim Jong Un's personal involvement both during Lukashenka's meeting and during his farewell.

"The biggest similarity between these countries is that both treat Putin almost like an elder brother (...)

It was Putin who connected Belarus and North Korea. During the war in Ukraine, North Korea helped Russia, but Belarus also helped a lot. Therefore, for Putin, these are two very important countries.

Павялічыць

Alexander Lukashenka and Kim Jong Un during a meeting in North Korea, March 26, 2026. Photo: Belarus Presidential Press Service via AP

Belarus is also a special partner for him. And, probably, he thought: "North Korea is having a hard time now. These are countries I care about. Meet and try to establish cooperation."

That's why he built this bridge between them. If Putin hadn't done it, they would hardly have met. This is how it can be understood. (...)

"But imagine how pleasant this is for Putin to see. He probably thinks: 'My younger brothers get along wonderfully.' Therefore, there is a certain message from Putin in this story," the program participants believe.

They also drew attention to another similarity between Lukashenka and Kim Jong Un: both are often suspected of wanting to transfer power to their children.

"Kim Jong Un has a daughter Kim Ju Ae. Lukashenka also has children — three sons. But with whom does he most often appear in public? Not with the eldest or the middle, but with his youngest son Nikolai," the program participants noted.

It was on this basis that a joke about a possible dynastic marriage between the children of the two leaders was made in the studio.

"Nikolai will soon reach marriageable age, Kim Ju Ae will also grow up. What is this, some kind of Middle Ages? Some dynastic marriage?" the discussion participants joked.

One of them noted that authoritarian leaders often seek to transfer power to their children.

"Dictators know that the end of their regimes is often difficult. Therefore, they try to solve this problem through hereditary transfer of power. That's why it's very interesting that during this visit to the DPRK, Lukashenka took Nikolai with him," he said.

Another program participant suggested that Lukashenka might have perceived Kim Jong Un's example as a model for preparing a successor.

"Perhaps after the trip to Pyongyang, Lukashenka thought: 'This is how one should prepare a son.' He might have brought Nikolai to introduce those who are seen as the next generation of leaders in the future. As if to say: 'After us, you will come.'"

He added that possible objections from the West would hardly matter much to them.

"Whatever the West says, they might not care. Perhaps they even deliberately introduced them to each other with the words: 'You, the next generation, rule Belarus and North Korea well'," they ironically remarked in the studio.

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