The appearance of Kim Jong-un’s daughter in China ahead of Xi Jinping’s “victory day” parade in Beijing has added to speculation that she is being groomed to become the first female ruler of North Korea
Photos released by North Korean state media showed Kim Ju-ae, who is believed to be in her early teens, stepping off her father’s heavily armoured train in the Chinese capital, where she was greeted by Chinese officials at the start of her debut on the international stage.
But Ju-ae, whose name and age the regime has never publicly confirmed, is no stranger to the spotlight, having accompanied Kim on numerous official duties around North Korea, including the test launches of ballistic missiles and, more recently, the opening of Wonsan Kalma, a resort on the country’s east coast.
If, as many analysts believe, Ju-ae is her father’s preferred successor, she would become the fourth member of the Kim family to rule North Korea since it was founded by her great-grandfather, Kim Il-sung, in 1948.
First identified by the former NBA star Dennis Rodman – a friend of Kim who claimed to have held his then baby daughter during a visit to Pyongyang in 2013 – Ju-ae has not spoken in public, but has become a near-permanent fixture in her father’s entourage, alongside his influential sister and confidante, Kim Yo-jong.
North Korea’s tightly controlled state media had not carried reports about any of Kim’s children until Ju-ae was first seen accompanying him at the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in 2022. Several months later, Ju-ae attended a parade marking a founding anniversary of the Korean People’s Army, and state media began referring to her as Kim’s “respected” daughter.
According to a 2017 report by South Korea’s intelligence service, Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, have three children: a son born in 2010, a daughter born in 2013 who is thought to be Ju-ae and, in 2017, a child whose gender has not been confirmed.
Follow Us on Facebook – @LadunLiadi; Instagram – @LadunLiadi; Twitter – @LadunLiadi; Youtube – @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Seen