Kim Jong Un Brings Daughter As Potential Successor On China Trip

(MENAFN- Live Mint) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's teenage daughter made her international debut in China this week, with her unprecedented appearance abroad intensifying speculation she is being groomed as his eventual successor.

Kim arrived in China on Tuesday aboard a bulletproof train to attend a military parade in Beijing. As he disembarked from the train, his daughter, thought to be named Ju Ae and about 12 to 13 years old, emerged right behind her father in a dark jacket with a navy blue ribbon in her hair.

The school-aged girl's Beijing trip marks her first appearance at an overseas diplomatic event, drawing comparisons to Kim's own visit to China in 2010, when he reportedly accompanied his father, Kim Jong Il, to meet then-President Hu Jintao.

Given her young age and the famously opaque manner in which the leadership operates in North Korea, it's impossible to know for certain that she is part of the succession plan. But South Korean intelligence officials have said the daughter is receiving lessons to take over the country, which has been ruled by the Kim family since its founding in the 1940s. She is believed to be one of two or possibly three children of Kim and his wife, Ri Sol Ju. No other children of Kim have been confirmed by North Korea.

Ju Ae - who has been dubbed the“respected daughter” and“beloved child” by North Korean state media - first appeared at a state event in 2022 when she attended the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile designed to deliver a nuclear warhead to the US mainland. She has since played a prominent role in state propaganda, appearing alongside her father observing major weapons tests.

Questions linger over whether Kim Jong Un has decided that his daughter will take over. North Korea's other leaders - state founder Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il - installed their adult sons in the state apparatus to train them as successors, giving them official posts as they waited in the wings to build their stature. The daughter has yet to be formally identified by name in official media reports.

While Kim attended the parade Wednesday morning, his daughter wasn't pictured at that venue in state media broadcasts.

Given that Kim Jong Un is still in his 40s, he could remain in power for decades. Regardless of who will inherit the leadership when the time comes, Ju Ae's presence on the sidelines of the high-profile ceremonies in Beijing sends a clear message to the world that the family has another generation waiting in the wings, and that North Korea won't be bargaining away its nuclear arsenal any time soon.

The military parade in Beijing marks 80 years since Japan's defeat in World War II. It's the first time Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un have appeared together at a public event, sending a signal of their resolve to coordinate more openly in challenging the US-led global order.

North Korea has shunned recent efforts by Seoul to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula and said any attempt to resume dialogue should start with recognizing the North as a nuclear power.

©2025 Bloomberg L.P.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

MENAFN03092025007365015876ID1110009694