Kim Jong Un’s daughter Ju Ae made her first overseas appearance in Beijing, fueling speculation she is being groomed as North Korea’s future leader.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s teenage daughter made her first international appearance in Beijing this week, heightening speculation that she is being prepared as his eventual successor.
Kim arrived in China on Tuesday aboard a bulletproof train to attend a military parade marking 80 years since Japan’s defeat in World War II. Behind him emerged his daughter — believed to be Ju Ae, aged about 12 or 13 — wearing a dark jacket and a navy ribbon in her hair.
The school-aged girl’s presence at such a high-profile overseas event drew comparisons to Kim’s own 2010 trip to China, when he accompanied his father, Kim Jong Il.
South Korean intelligence officials have previously suggested that Ju Ae is being groomed for leadership, though she has yet to be officially identified by name in North Korean state media.
Since first appearing publicly at a 2022 missile launch, she has been a regular figure in state propaganda, often dubbed the “beloved daughter.” Her debut abroad signals that the Kim dynasty is preparing another generation to maintain power and nuclear ambitions.
The Beijing parade also marked the first public appearance together of China’s Xi Jinping, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, underscoring their growing alignment against the US-led order.