Kim’s daughter visits family mausoleum, promoting her potential status as heir in North Korea
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Young girl child North Korean leader Kim Jong Un He made his first known visit to a sacred family mausoleum; Experts say this step strengthens her status as her father’s potential heir.
The visit, which took place on Thursday, New Year’s Day, even led to the following speculations: girl, Her name is reportedly Kim Ju Ae and she is around 13 years old, she may be appointed as a senior official in the upcoming decision Labor Party convention.
Footage released by North Korean state media on Friday showed Kim Ju Ae standing in the front row with her parents and bowing deeply at Pyongyang’s Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, where the mummified bodies of her late grandfather and great-grandfather are on display.
Cheong Seong-Chang, vice president of the private Sejong Institute in South Korea, said the palace was “a place that symbolizes the legitimacy of the North Korean regime” and that his visit there ahead of the Workers’ Party congress was a politically planned move.
Kim Jong Un, 41, comes from the third generation of the family that has ruled North Korea since the country’s founding in 1948. He celebrates important state anniversaries by frequently visiting the Kumsusan palace and paying tribute to his father Kim Jong Il and grandfather Kim Il Sung.
Cheong predicted that Kim Jong Un might give his daughter the job of first secretary of the Workers’ Party, the party’s No. 2 job in the congress. Other experts say he is too young to accept such a high-profile role and may be given lower-level jobs.
The aim of the congress, the first of its kind in five years, is to set new priorities in state policies and make changes in officials. North Korea did not say when the meeting would be held, but South Korea’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Service, said it would likely be held in January or February.
Since then appeared in state media for the first time Kim Ju Ae in November 2022 accompanied his father at a number of events, including military parades and missile launches. In September, Kim Jong Un took him in. Beijing trip. This week, he showed their closeness by kissing his father on the cheek during New Year’s celebrations. I
In January 2024, NIS said that he considered Kim Ju Ae to be his father’s wife. possible heir. Some outside experts disagree with this assessment, citing Kim Jong Un’s relatively young age and the highly male-dominated nature of North Korea’s power hierarchy. NIS told lawmakers in November that Kim did not suffer from any significant health problems.
The appearance of young Kim Ju Ae came as a surprise to foreign experts because neither Kim Jong Un nor Kim Jong Il was mentioned in North Korean state media before he became an adult. Some observers say Kim Jong Un likely aimed to drum up public support for his plan to expand the family’s rule by repeatedly exposing Kim Ju Ae at public events.
