North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has reportedly already lined up his successor, with the teenager increasingly taking part in high-profile diplomatic meetings and public appearances.
Kim Ju-ae, the 13-year-old daughter of Kim Jong-un, was the girl pictured beside him in the ‘proof of life’ photos shared following rumours he’d suffered a brain haemorrhage while on a visit to Beijing and died.
She made her first public appearance four years ago while her father inspected some missiles, and has since become referred to as the ‘respected daughter’.
In North Korea, ‘respected’ is only used to talk about very high-status individuals. It was only applied to Kim Jong-un once he was confirmed to be the future North Korean leader.
South Korea’s intelligence services have claimed that Kim Ju-ae is being trained as Kim Jong-un’s heir and will one day rule North Korea in his place, meaning this teenager will one day be in charge of nuclear weapons and one of the world’s largest armies in a dictatorship that has endured for decades.
A series of ‘proof of life’ photos were shared (Korean Central News Agency)
Ju-ae is the only child of the North Korean leader who is regularly shown in public, taking the place which was once her mother’s.
Kim Jong-un and his wife Ri Sol-ju are believed to have three children, but none of the others have ever been seen in public and we don’t know their names or ages, the BBC reports.
Ex-NBA player Dennis Rodman, who struck up a friendship with Kim Jong-un, publicly revealed that he met Kim Ju-ae following a visit in 2013, telling the Guardian at the time: “I held their baby Ju-ae and spoke with [Kim’s wife] as well.”
Kim Jong-un has been bringing his daughter to more public appearances in recent years (AFP via Getty Images)
Her official name has never been confirmed to the world, but she is referred to as Ju-ae, as that’s what Rodman called her.
We know a little about her from South Korean intelligence, AP reports. She is reportedly home-schooled and enjoys horse-riding, swimming and skiing.
In February, South Korean lawmaker Lee Seong-kweun told reporters (as per Sky News) that Ju-ae used to be referred to as being ‘in study as successor’, but now was ‘in the stage of being internally appointed successor’.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, told CNN in 2023: “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.”
Kim Jong-un even carried out a rare public display of affection, kissing his daughter at a New Year’s celebration at the May Day stadium in Pyongyang earlier this year.
Kim Ju-ae gave her dad a kiss on the cheek at a New Year’s celebration this year (Korean Central Television)
South Korean intelligence says she’s being raised as his heir and successor (KCNA VIA KNS / AFP via Getty Images)
High-ranking members of the military have kneeled beside her to speak to the teen with respect, with Ju-ae being introduced at state ceremonies by mid-2024 by Kim Jong-un’s sister Kim Yo-jong.
She even formally greeted the Russian ambassador the following year.
Mason Richey, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, told Reuters in 2025: “For all we know, this is just him doting on a favourite child, but the more that she shows up, the more it seems that she’s either being fully groomed for leadership or at least floated as a possibility.”
The nation has even started producing postage stamps featuring both Kim Jong-un and his daughter together.
If Ju-ae really is her father’s successor, she would succeed him, Kim Jong-il and Kim Il Sung, while also becoming the first woman to lead the nation and be in possession of the red button to the nation’s nuclear weapons.
Featured Image Credit: KCNA VIA KNS / AFP via Getty Images
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