A carefully staged debut in Beijing
When Kim Jong Un stepped off his armored train in Beijing for China’s Victory Day commemoration, a familiar yet still mysterious figure stood just behind him. The teenager in a navy suit, poised and composed, was his daughter, Kim Ju Ae. Her presence at a major international event marked her first appearance outside North Korea and instantly intensified the debate over succession inside the ruling Kim family.
State images showed Kim Ju Ae near the receiving line as senior Chinese officials welcomed the North Korean leader at Beijing Railway Station. According to reports from Seoul, she was visible alongside Kim when Cai Qi, the chief of staff to President Xi Jinping, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi greeted the delegation. North Korean state media highlighted the event, yet avoided naming the girl or even noting her attendance, a typical move that keeps ambiguity while still sending a unmistakable signal.
Analysts in South Korea, Japan, the United States, and Europe read the scene as a carefully orchestrated step. Over the past three years, Kim Ju Ae has moved from domestic weapons tests and parades into diplomatic optics. Bringing her to a multilateral gathering in China, in the company of Xi and other leaders, looked like an effort to blend internal messaging with external validation. North Korea has a long tradition of treating the Kim family as a sacred bloodline, and major foreign appearances can serve as proofs of status for a would-be successor.
Who is Kim Ju Ae
Reliable details are scarce. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) believes she is the second of three children born to Kim Jong Un and his wife, Ri Sol Ju, and that she is around 12 or 13. The outside world first heard her name in 2013, when former NBA star Dennis Rodman described holding a baby girl named Ju Ae during a visit with Kim’s family in Pyongyang. Nearly a decade passed without confirmation from North Korea. Then, in November 2022, state media unveiled a daughter at an intercontinental ballistic missile launch. South Korean officials identified her as Kim Ju Ae.
Her public profile surged in 2023. She attended a military parade, stood beside her father at missile tests and factory tours, and appeared on commemorative stamps. North Korean outlets began calling her the leader’s
