On January 1, 2026, the daughter of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un accompanied her parents on her first public visit to the Kumsusan Mausoleum (also called the Kim Il-sung Museum) in Pyongyang. Kim Ju Ae has been appearing more and more often at official ceremonies attended by the North Korean leader for about three years, which raises the suspicions of analysts and the South Korean intelligence agency that she may be being groomed to succeed the country's leader.
However, Hong Min, an expert on North Korea at the state-owned Korea Institute for National Unification, told Reuters that it was too early to make such predictions because, according to estimates, the dictator's daughter is only 13 years old. The role of Kim's other children in the possible succession of power is also unclear.
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Why did Kim Ju Ae attend the mausoleum visit?
What speculations about Kim Ju Ae's future have circulated among analysts?
How old is Kim Ju Ae?
What significance did Kim Ju Ae's visit have for the future succession?
Kim Jong Un's daughter will replace her father? “A well-thought-out move”
Kim Jong Un's daughter attended the New Year celebrations for the first time. Together with her parents, she visited, among others, Kumsusan Mausoleum to pay tribute to his grandfather and founder of the country, Kim Il-sung, and his father, Kim Jong-il. As Reuters reminds, in September she also took part in her first official foreign visit to China.
Cheong Seong-chang, vice president of the Sejong Institute think tank, described Kim's daughter's first appearance at Kumsusan Palace as a “premeditated move” by her father ahead of the upcoming ruling party congress, where her succession could be formalized.
A spokesman for South Korea's Ministry of Unification declined to comment to the agency on Ju Ae's appearance. According to Hong Min, caution should be exercised in speculations regarding possible succession. — It is practically impossible to publicly nominate Kim Ju Ae, who has probably just turned 13, as her successor when she is not even old enough to join the party, the expert stressed. He also stated that North Korea uses the presence of the dictator's daughter at important ceremonies to create an “image of a stable family” of the North Korean leader.
