North Korea leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter Ju Ae makes first public visit to state mausoleum

Photos published on state media on Friday showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s daughter Ju Ae, who is set to become his likely successor, accompanying her parents on her first public visit to the Kumsusan mausoleum to pay respects to the former leaders.

Ju Ae has become increasingly prominent in state media over the past three years, fueling speculation by analysts and South Korea’s intelligence agency that she could be the country’s fourth-generation leader.

Cheong Seong-chang, vice president of the Sejong Institute think tank, saw Ju Ae’s initial presence at the Kumsusan palace as a calculated move ahead of the upcoming ruling party Congress at which his father’s succession could be formalized.
Kim was accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and senior officials during the visit with ‍Ju Ae among his parents in the main hall of the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun on January 1, according to photos by state news agency KCNA.

Hong Min, a North Korea expert at the state-run Korea National Unification Institute, said North Korea is projecting the image of Kim’s “stable family” by showing his wife and daughter with Kim at important events.

Kim Ju Ae, who is believed to have been born in the early 2010s, attended this year’s New Year celebrations, state media reported on Thursday. In September, he went to Beijing with his father for his first public trip abroad.
Kim visits Kumsusan to honor his grandfather and state founder Kim Il Sung and his father Kim Jong Il on key dates and anniversaries in a gesture that affirms the nuclear-armed nation’s dynastic legacy. North Korea has never confirmed Ju Ae’s age.

A spokesman for South Korea’s Unification Ministry declined to comment on Ju Ae’s appearance. The government’s view is that it is too early to call him his successor, given his age and lack of an official position, an official told reporters.

Hong said the potential roles of Kim’s other children leaves room for caution in inferring Ju Ae’s successor.

“It is almost impossible to appoint Kim Ju Ae, who is believed to have just turned 13, as his successor before she is even old enough to join the (Workers’) Party,” Hong said. (Reporting by Jack Kim, Ju-min Park, Heejin Kim; Editing by Chris Reese and Michael Perry)