Kim Jong Un’s daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju Ae, is increasingly viewed as his likely successor, with her recent high-profile trip to China further cementing her prominent status.
The girl, likely in her early teens and bearing a close resemblance to her mother, accompanied her father on what was his first visit to a major gathering of world leaders and her first known trip abroad.
North Korean state media footage captured her presence during the Beijing visit.
She was seen disembarking from a train directly behind her father and ahead of foreign minister Choe Son Hui, clapping as North Korean Embassy officials bowed.
She also stood near him during a meeting with senior officials inside his train.
South Korea’s spy agency said on 11 September that this trip solidified her position as her father’s probable heir.
Believed to be 12 or 13 years old, not much else is publicly known about her. However, her repeated appearances at significant events alongside her father have intensified speculation that she is being groomed as North Korea’s next leader.
In a closed-door briefing, the South Korean National Intelligence Service said Kim Jong Un was believed to have brought his daughter to China to help her acquire overseas experience and cement her status as his likely heir, according to lawmaker Park Sunwon, who attended the meeting.
The spy agency cited coverage of her appearances in China in the country’s main state TV station and newspaper, which target the ordinary citizens, according to lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who was also at the meeting.
North Korean state media outlets have never published her name, referring to her as Kim Jong Un’s “respected” or “most beloved” child.
The belief that she is named Ju Ae is based on an account by former NBA champion Dennis Rodman, in which he recalled holding Kim Jong Un’s baby daughter during a trip to Pyongyang in 2013.
Her exact age is unconfirmed but South Korean intelligence officials believe she was born in 2013.
In 2023, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers it believed that Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju also have an older son and a younger third child, whose gender is unknown.
Kim Jong Un allowed his daughter to be seen in public for the first time during a test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile in November 2022. Photos in state media showed Kim Ju Ae wearing a white coat and red shoes as she watched a soaring missile from a distance and walked hand-in-hand with her father.
Her carefully-crafted appearances have included missile tests, military parades, and the launch of a naval destroyer in April.
Kim Jong Un has recently expanded his daughter’s public appearances beyond military events to include some of his most ambitious economic projects and cultural events, including the opening of a beach resort in June.
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service issued a careful assessment last year that it views Kim Ju Ae as her father’s likely successor, citing a comprehensive analysis of her public activities and the state protocols provided to her.
However, some outside experts disagree with that assessment, citing Kim Jong Un’s relatively young age and the extremely male-dominated nature of North Korea’s power hierarchy.
In Thursday’s briefing at parliament, the National Intelligence Service assessed that Kim has no major health issues and that he conducted official schedules in China smoothly.
Since its foundation in 1948, North Korea has been successively ruled by male members of the Kim family – Kim’s grandfather Kim Il Sung and father Kim Jong Il, with Kim Jong Un inheriting power in 2011 upon his father’s death.
