As North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stepped off his armoured green train in Beijing, greeted by Chinese officials shaking his hand and leading him down a red carpet, many observers noticed a young girl walking behind him, smiling politely, dressed in black with her hair tied in a bow.
This is believed to be Kim Ju-ae, the leader’s mysterious daughter.
She’s has made various public appearances over the years, mostly at military-related events, prompting speculation about why she’s in Beijing and whether Kim could be preparing his future successor.
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The young girl’s first public trip abroad is one of massive significance, at a parade where Chinese leader Xi Jinping will flaunt his military forces, and where her father will stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow autocrats including Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin – partnerships she may very well need to navigate one day.
The child was nowhere to be seen on Wednesday as her father strode down the red carpet at Tiananmen Square ahead of Xi’s military parade.
Little is known about Kim’s daughter, whose first public appearance in 2022 confirmed her existence, after years of speculation.
American basketball star Dennis Rodman revealed Kim had a baby called Ju-ae when he visited Pyongyang in 2013, telling The Guardian afterward, “I held their baby Ju-ae and spoke with (Kim’s wife) as well.”
There are varying reports about her exact age and birth year; it’s widely estimated she’s now a preteen or early teen, though that’s largely based on Rodman’s testimony, and it’s not clear how many months old she was when he met the family.
Kim’s daughter was introduced to the world in true Kim style in 2022, accompanying her father as he oversaw the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Several more public appearances came in 2023 – mostly at military events, such as a military parade where she gazed out at rows of ICBMs in the capital Pyongyang.
At the time, experts said her appearance at these events sent a clear message: that North Korea would hold tight to its weapons, including its nuclear program, and that the Kim clan remained at the centre of the country’s military power.
“By ostentatiously including his wife and daughter, Kim wants observers at home and abroad to see his family dynasty and the North Korean military as irrevocably linked,” Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said after the 2023 parade.
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North Korea has been ruled as a hereditary dictatorship since its founding in 1948 by Kim Il Sung. His son, Kim Jong-il, took over after his father’s death in 1994, and Kim Jong Un took power 17 years later when Kim Jong-il died.
Given the significance of the family dynasty, the public debut of Kim’s daughter sparked debate about whether she could be groomed as a successor – with mixed opinions among experts.
Some have pointed to the way she’s covered in North Korean state media – described as “beloved” and “respected” – as a sign that she may have special status.
Bringing her to military events from an early age could be a way to prepare her for the realities of leading 1.3 million armed forces personnel, as well as cultivating trust and respect from those troops, experts have said.
But others are sceptical – saying they’ve long believed that Kim’s two other children would be chosen as successors instead.
Her public appearances could also be a PR move to cultivate an image of Kim as a “family man” or “fatherly” figure, said Jenny Town, senior fellow at the Stimson Centre and director of the centre’s Korea Program, in a 2024 interview with CNN.
She pointed out that it would make sense for Kim to use his daughter for that purpose instead of his sons, because Rodman had already revealed her existence to the world – whereas even less is known about her siblings, who can still grow up out of the limelight.
For instance, Kim himself studied in Switzerland in the 1990s – but his daughter is “too well-known now, she’ll never be able to study overseas,” Town said.
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