Kim Jong-un with his daughter Ju Ae, who is seen as a likely successor.
Kim Jong-un with his daughter Ju Ae, who is seen as a likely successor.
There is growing speculation that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has decided who his successor is — Kim Ju Ae, his young daughter.
North Korean state media dropped a major hint at the hermit nation leader’s plans, making a bold move by referring to his daughter as a “great person of guidance”, a term exclusively used for top leaders and successors.
His daughter, believed to be between ages 10 and 12, oversees military drills with her father, a sign experts indicate could mean she’s being prepared for a leadership role.
But what do we know about Kim Ju Ae?
The world first caught a glimpse of Kim Ju Ae in 2022, when she appeared alongside her father for the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
South Korean intelligence revealed she is the daughter of Kim Jong-un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, a former famous singer in North Korea.
She was once thought to be Kim’s second child, but last year South Korea said it was “unable to confirm for sure” that a once-suspected older son existed.
Following her unveiling in 2022, she made five public appearances by early February this year.
The world first caught a glimpse of Kim Ju Ae in 2022, when she appeared alongside her father for the test firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Kim Ju Ae was present next to her father at the Grand Performance for New Year 2024 at the May Day Stadium.
While her true age cannot be confirmed, former NBA star Dennis Rodman visited North Korea in 2013 and recalled meeting Kim’s baby daughter called Je Ae.
Analysts have long said Ju Ae is the equivalent of a North Korean “princess”.
At the beginning of the year, the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) wrote: “Kim Ju Ae appears to be a likely heir, at least for the present, given her appearances and the treatment she is receiving. But since Kim Jong-un is still young with no major health issues, and because there are many variables, we are watching the situation closely while keeping open all possibilities.”
In recent years, Kim Jong-un’s wife Ri has been accompanying the supreme ruler to events, but now he is bringing his daughter into the public eye more frequently.
Of late, North Koreans have been shown bowing before her in state media. She appeared once again on September 9 at a parade marking the 75th anniversary of the Day of the Foundation of the Republic.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un inspects a newly built poultry factory with his daughter Kim Ju Ae.
At a military parade, the country’s most powerful military official, Marshal Pak Jong Chon, was seen kneeling by Ju Ae.
This suggests she is “almost definitely” being groomed as the next leader of the nuclear-armed country, Ahn Chan-il, a defector-turned-researcher who runs the World Institute for North Korea Studies, said.
“Pak represents the North Korean military, and he’s basically publicly pledged his allegiance to Ju Ae,” he said.
Vladimir Tikhonov, professor of Korean Studies at the University of Oslo, said while no woman has led the country before, her “sacred Paektu bloodline of the Kim clan” could outweigh her gender.
