Kim Ju-ae
Kim Ju-ae | |
|---|---|
 Kim Ju-ae and her father, North Korea's leader | |
| Born | circa 2014 |
| Parent(s) |
|
Kim Ju-ae is a prominent North Korean youth.[1] She is the daughter of North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un.[2] Her exact age is unknown. As of August 2024[update], commentators suggested she was just ten years old.
Kim Jong-un has had Kim Ju-ae at his side for ceremonial occassions, triggering speculators to suggest she is his chosen successor.[1] Her aunt, Kim Yo-jong, has also been suggested to be Kim Jong-un's choice of successor, as she is his most truested advisor, and is a member of the Kim family. But, Kim Yo-Jong escorted Kim Ju-ae to the podium, and bowed to her, when she symbolically opened a new military site, on August 9, 2024. Speculators claimed this symbolic act of deference confirmed Kim Ju-ae was Kim Jong-un's final choice of successor.
Commentators muse over Kim Jong-un's apparent choice of Kim Ju-ae, as his successor, for various reasons, including:
- North Korean culture is unusually resistant to recognizing female leadership.
- She is believed to have at least one brother, and commentators wonder whether there is something wrong with her brother(s).
- There is an isolated mountain, in the far north of Korea, with a symbolic meaning for Koreans. Kim, and the previous leaders, his father and grandfather, Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung, are all supposed to have been born within sight of this mountain -- but Kim Ju-ae was not.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1
Kwak Yeon-soo (2024-08-09). "Footage of Kim Yo-jong bowing signals NK leader's daughter as heir". Korea Times. Archived from the original on 2025-07-22. Retrieved 2025-12-28.
Recent footage of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's young daughter being escorted to the podium by her aunt, Kim Yo-jong, at a ceremony in Pyongyang has sparked speculation that the child may be considered her father's potential successor.
CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ↑ "The Last Heir? Kim Ju-ae And North Korea's Succession". HRNK. 2025-09-25. Retrieved 2026-01-10.