Kim Jong-un’s daughter visits family mausoleum, promoting her potential status as heir in North Korea
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The teenage daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made her first known visit to a sacred family mausoleum, a step that experts say bolstered her status as her father’s potential heir.
The visit, which occurred on New Year’s Day on Thursday, even sparked speculation that the girl — reportedly named Kim Ju-ae and aged about 13 — could be named a high-level official at the upcoming ruling Workers’ Party congress.
Images carried by North Korea’s state media on Friday showed Kim Ju-ae standing in the front row with her parents and deeply bowing at Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the embalmed bodies of her late grandfather and great-grandfather are on display.
The palace is “a place that symbolizes legitimacy of the North Korean regime” and her visit there ahead of the Workers’ Party congress is a politically orchestrated move, said Cheong Seong-Chang, deputy head of the private Sejong Institute in South Korea.
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter, believed to be named Kim Ju-ae, inspect a completed hotel in Samjiyon, northeast of Pyongyang, North Korea, on Dec. 20. (Korean Central News Agency/The Associated Press)
Kim Jong-un, 41, is the third generation of his family to rule North Korea since the country’s foundation in 1948. He often marks key state anniversaries by visiting the Kumsusan Palace and paying respect to his father, Kim Jong-il, and grandfather, Kim Il-sung.
Cheong predicted that Kim Jong-un could give his daughter the first secretary post at the Workers’ Party, the party’s No. 2 job, at the congress. Other experts say she is too young to accept such a high-profile post and might be provided with lower-level jobs.
The congress — the first of its kind in five years — is meant to establish new priorities in state policies and reshuffle officials. North Korea hasn’t said when it will hold it, but the National Intelligence Service, South Korea’s spy agency, said it likely will be held either in January or February.
Since first appearing in state media in November 2022, Kim Ju-ae has accompanied her father at a slew of events, including military parades and missile launches. In September, Kim Jong-un brought her on his trip to Beijing. During New Years’ Day celebrations this week, she kissed her father on the cheek, showing their closeness.
In January 2024, the NIS said it viewed Kim Ju-ae as her father’s likely heir. 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. The NIS told lawmakers in November that Kim appeared to have no major health problems.
Revealing the young Kim Ju-ae was a surprise to foreign experts, because neither Kim Jong-un nor Kim Jong-il were mentioned in North Korean state media before they became adults. Some observers say Kim Jong-un likely aimed to shore up public support for his plan to extend the family’s rule by repeatedly disclosing Kim Ju-ae in public events.
