Appearance of Nokor leader’s daughter stirs ‘successor’ talk
SEOUL, South Korea—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 bolsters her status as her father’s potential heir.
The New Year’s Day visit has even sparked speculation that the 13-year-old girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae, could be named a high-level official at the upcoming congress of the ruling Workers’ Party.
No. 2 job?
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.
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—during the congress.
But for other experts, she is too young to accept such a high-profile post and might be provided instead with a lower-level job.
The congress, the first of its kind in five years, is intended to reshuffle officials and establish new priorities in state policies.
North Korea hasn’t said when this will be held. But the National Intelligence Service, South Korea’s spy agency, said it will likely be in January or February.
Since first appearing in state media in November 2022, Kim Ju Ae has accompanied her father in military parades, missile launches and other events, including a trip to Beijing in September.
Likely heir
The NIS said last year it viewed Kim Ju Ae as her father’s likely heir. But 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.
But revealing the young Kim Ju Ae was still a surprise to foreign experts because neither Kim Jong Un nor Kim Jong Il were mentioned in 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 presenting Kim Ju Ae in public events.
