Key points
- First overseas trip for teenage heir
- Gaining exposure to global leadership circles
- Public appearances suggest succession campaign underway
ISLAMABAD: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un brought his teenage daughter to Beijing this week in what is believed to be her first public trip abroad, further fueling speculation that she may be his chosen successor.
While North Korea has not confirmed her name or age, South Korean intelligence believes she is Ju Ae, the daughter identified by former American basketball player Dennis Rodman, who described holding her as a baby in 2013, according to Reuters.
🚨⚡️ BREAKING: First footage of Kim Jong Un’s arrival in China!
He is accompanied by his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, for the first time. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was at the forefront to welcome them in Beijing.
-: A new era of diplomacy is unfolding! 🇰🇵🇨🇳 pic.twitter.com/DLJQTgldef
— RussiaNews 🇷🇺 (@mog_russEN) September 2, 2025
Ju Ae was seen just behind her father as they stepped off their armoured train in Beijing, where Kim attended a major military parade hosted by China to mark Japan’s surrender at the end of World War Two in the Pacific.
Next supreme leader
“Right now, Ju Ae is the frontrunner as next supreme leader of North Korea,” said Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the US-based Stimson Center. “She is getting practical protocol experience, which should serve her well as North Korea’s next leader or a core elite.”
🇰🇵🇰🇷SEOUL (@CNN) — North Korea releases new images confirming Kim Jong Un brought **his daughter & possible successor, Kim Ju Ae,** to the Victory Day military parade in Beijing. This is a *major* step for Kim’s daughter, widely seen as being prepared to lead DPRK next. pic.twitter.com/iwqrddMgzn
— Mike Valerio (@ValerioCNN) September 2, 2025
This marks the first time she has travelled abroad with Kim. Madden noted she is gaining valuable exposure to foreign leaders and elite circles.
First public appearance
Unlike his daughter, there is no evidence that Kim Jong Un accompanied his father, Kim Jong Il, on overseas trips, though Kim Jong Il did travel with his own father, North Korea’s founding leader Kim Il Sung, in the 1950s.
Kim Ju Ae, daughter of Kim Jong Un, is being hailed in North Korea as a “great person of guidance” — a sign, experts say, that she is perhaps being groomed to take the reins of the isolated, nuclear-armed regime one day. | via @nytimes https://t.co/CsgycMpx4t
— The Japan Times (@japantimes) August 28, 2025
Ju Ae first appeared publicly in 2022 at the launch of a major ballistic missile. Since then, she has attended a range of events, including a diplomatic reception at the Russian Embassy in May.
“The scope of her public appearances certainly has expanded,” said Rachel Minyoung Lee of the Stimson Center. “If this is part of a succession campaign, this would certainly help.”
