In North Korea, where a dictatorial system has been built on secrecy, blood ties, and a cult of lineage, every small gesture is interpreted as a message laden with symbolism. And in the first two days of 2026, the same message was delivered twice: the presence of Ju-ae, the beloved daughter of the country’s supreme leader, Kim Jong-Un, has ceased to be a carefully measured exception and is beginning to become a regular part of the power plays.
The state news agency KCNA released photographs on January 1 and 2 of the North Korean leader accompanied by the teenager — estimated to be around 13 years old — at various official events. The images correspond to the New Year’s celebrations and the New Year’s visit to the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the embalmed bodies of Kim Il-sung, the founder of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and his son and successor, Kim Jong-il, the current leader’s father, lie in state.
Although Ju-ae had previously attended New Year’s celebrations, this is the first time the young woman has publicly paid tribute to her ancestors. The mausoleum is one of the regime’s most sacred sites, where the power of the Kim dynasty is enshrined as eternal. After assuming the position of head of state in 2012, Kim had made this tribute an almost ritualistic event every January 1, to underscore continuity at the start of each political year, although he omitted it in 2024 and 2025 (he had previously only done so in 2018).
The KCNA text does not explicitly mention Ju-ae’s presence, but in some images published by the same media outlet, the minor appears in the center of the frame, with her father to her left and her mother, Ri Sol-ju, to her right.
According to Cheong Seong-chang, vice president of the Sejong Institute think tank, this could be a calculated move by Kim, in anticipation of the ninth Workers’ Party congress, scheduled for the beginning of this year and designed to set new state priorities and reorganize the leadership.
In statements reported by several news agencies, Cheong does not rule out the possibility that Kim, 41, will appoint his daughter as first secretary at the quinquennial congress, which would catapult her to the number two position within the party hierarchy. Other analysts, however, believe she is too young to assume such a high-profile role. Ju-ae, in fact, does not meet the minimum age requirement for joining the party, which is set at 18 according to its statutes. Nevertheless, they agree that she could assume some kind of official position during the congress.
What little is known about Ju-ae is based on speculation. The first image of her was published in November 2022, when she accompanied her father to the inspection of a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile before its launch. On that occasion, state media referred to her as Kim’s “beloved daughter,” and since then, she has been described with adjectives such as “respected” or “dear,” and even as hyangdo, a term that could be translated as “guiding leader” and is usually reserved for heads of state or their successors, according to experts. But her name and age have never been confirmed.
Before 2022, the first person to mention the girl was former NBA player Dennis Rodman. The eccentric athlete claimed in 2013, after one of his trips to the most secretive country on earth, that he had held a baby girl named Ju-ae, Kim’s daughter. Some defectors have subsequently corroborated this name, and it is the identity used by South Korean intelligence services. She is believed to be the middle child of three siblings, aged approximately 16, 13, and nine. The existence of other children is based on South Korean analysis, as Pyongyang has never disclosed the family’s composition, and the other two children have never even been seen.
Ju-ae, however, has appeared with increasing prominence in official media over the past three years, and especially in the second half of 2025, fueling speculation about her future. She has attended several inspections, missile launches, and inauguration ceremonies, and also accompanied the North Korean leader to Beijing last September to attend the parade held in the Chinese capital to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in World War II.
In statements collected at the time by the South Korean agency Yonhap, analyst Cheong asserted that it was an “important signal to the international community that she is his possible successor” and that the trip consisted of “an opportunity to begin her diplomatic training.”
In images from the New Year’s Eve gala, the girl is seen holding her father’s hand and, in a show of affection, giving him a kiss on the cheek after the countdown to 2026. In her official appearances, Ju-ae usually wears formal clothes and heels and sports carefully styled hairstyles, which conveys a more mature image than one might expect for someone her age.
North Korean leaders have never openly announced their successors to the people. Transitions have been signaled gradually, through increased public visibility and the progressive allocation of political and symbolic responsibilities. Kim Jong-il began to be promoted internally in the 1970s and gained influence throughout the 1980s. After Kim Il-sung’s death in 1994, North Korea entered a prolonged period of mourning during which his son assumed de facto power. His leadership was consolidated and formalized in 1997, once his control over the party, the army, and the state was firmly established.
For his part, Kim Jong-Un began appearing more visibly alongside his father from 2009 onward, initially accompanying him on military inspections and at key events, and later assuming important positions himself. Confirmation that he would be the new leader only came after the death of Kim Jong-il in December 2011.
In January 2024, South Korea’s National Intelligence Agency suggested that Ju-ae could be the successor, a hypothesis that, if confirmed, would make her the first woman to lead North Korea since its founding in 1948. Several analysts have long interpreted Ju-ae’s frequent appearances alongside her mother as constructing the image of a “stable family,” a visual device that brings the regime closer to an image similar to that of a monarchy.
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